Fred: Admin in Exile
by ThePlayaJam765
Summary: After narrowly escaping death from Romeo's hands, Fred assumes his human form and goes undercover in Romeo's new world. However, when pandemonium strikes, namely in the form of a giant Wither-Storm, Fred has no choice but to use his powers to help defeat the monstrosity. But doing so is much easier said than done when he must also cover his tracks to hide his presence from Romeo.
1. Prologue

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

To say that Fred was concerned would be an understatement. In fact, he would not be exaggerating when he said that Romeo's current attitude and behaviour was starting to scare him. He and Romeo have been getting into an alarmingly large amount of arguments and Romeo was starting to become cold and distant.

In most of their recent arguments, Romeo did say something about how Xara and Fred didn't seem to have time to hang out with him anymore, since they are too busy wasting their lives with their towns, namely Fred's Keep and The Oasis. Fred didn't think much of it at the time, but he was starting to think that maybe Romeo's cold behaviour was for a reason.

This was part of the reason why he was taking the time to visit Romeoburg to plant a book inside their old cabin, which was intended for Xara to find should anything go wrong. In the book, he had scribbled down a word of passage; #POTATO451. This was the password that Fred created to guard the Golden Gauntlet which had the ability to strip one of them of their Admin powers. This was something that he did not share with Romeo or Xara.

Instead of going to retrieve the golden gauntlet directly, he had decided on an alternate course of action, which was to write the password down in a book, hide it in their old cabin and go to terminal space to add a hologram recording of himself which would be triggered if someone had put in the password. He was hoping that if he were to speak to Romeo and reassure him that he still considered him a friend, maybe Romeo would snap out of his cold attitude and become his old self again.

Right now, he was on his way to the Oasis to speak to Xara about his plan regarding Romeo. He wasn't 100% sure whether it would work or not, so he had to have a backup plan. He didn't want to resort to using the Golden Gauntlet, however if his plan to talk some sense into Romeo went south, he needed to make sure Romeo did not do anything rash, and the only way to do that would be to take his Admin powers away. This is where Xara comes in.

With all this in mind, Fred arrived at the main gates to the Oasis, where he saw the citizens of Xara's town going about their usual business. Sometimes he wished his life was that simple, but with his status as an Admin, life would never be that simple for him.

"Fred!" A voice called out, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was Xara. "What brings you here?"

"Hey, Xara! Mind if we go inside, I'd rather discuss this in private." Fred greeted.

They both stepped inside.

"Listen, Xara. This is about Romeo. I'm worried about him. He's started acting all cold and distant and…..just really freaking me out. You must have noticed." Fred explained.

"Now that you talk about it, he has been a bit off recently. I was just thinking that it was a phase he was going through." Xara admitted.

"I wish it was. Unfortunately, I've known him for far too long to know that this isn't normal. Whatever must be happening, it's really getting to him." Fred responded. He looked outside towards the tower just over the hill in the distance, his Admin powers helping his eyesight. Romeo seemed to be doing most of his pacing in that tower lately. Fred stifled a sigh.

"Normally, I'd just try and calm him down. But with these Admin powers, he could really hurt someone if he got mad. Therefore, I've been really worried about his attitude recently." Fred added. "I'm still going to go and talk to him, perhaps I might be able to snap him out of it." He turned to Xara. "But I would be foolish if I was going to try and confront him without a backup plan. This is where you come in."

"Me?" Xara asked.

"Yes. If it goes south and Romeo does something rash, I can't continue to let him run around with those powers. He could cause some real devastation. This is your part." He paused. "I have a weapon. It has the power to take away Romeo's Admin powers. I've had it for years, but I only wanted it to be used as a last resort. I've hidden it at home."

"But he was our friend, surely you wouldn't need to go as far as to use it." Xara protested.

"That's what I used to think too. But like I said, he's gotten very aggressive lately. In my opinion, maybe those powers are starting to get to his head." Fred insisted. "From what I understand, Romeo's been spending a lot of time in that tower over there. I've pretty much gotten everything ready. It's now time for me to attempt to talk some sense into Romeo."

"Well I'm coming with you." Xara said.

"No. It's too dangerous." Fred reasoned. "What if Romeo snaps and does something rash?"

"I don't care. I'm not letting you do this alone." Xara insisted.

Fred gave in.

"Okay. I… okay. But under one condition. If Romeo does anything rash at all, leave immediately and get the weapon." Fred instructed. "Do you understand?"

"Yes." Xara answered.

"Okay. Here we go." Fred said, mainly to himself.

And with a clap of his hands, both friends disappeared in purple particles.

The two friends reappeared at the foot of the tower. With a sigh, Fred walked in and climbed the staircase, Xara behind him.

"Remember our agreement, Xara." Fred reminded. "If anything happens, leave immediately and get that weapon."

Xara nodded.

"Just up here." Fred directed.

They approached a door.

"Stay outside." Fred whispered. "And get ready to flee should anything go wrong."

And with that, Fred entered the room.

"Romeo." Fred said, getting the Admin in question's attention.

"What do you want?" Romeo deadpanned.

"Listen, Romeo. This recent attitude of yours, it's gotta stop." Fred reasoned. "I'm really starting to worry here."

"Oh, are you now?" Romeo answered rudely in the same tone.

"Yes. All this arguing. Don't think I haven't noticed what's going on in Romeoburg. That challenge you created, it's nothing but a death trap. Nobody's been able to get out of it alive. What is going on with it? What's your problem?"

"What's going on? WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Romeo's voice raised in volume as he finally turned around to look at Fred. "I'll tell you what's going on! I'm trying to find a worthy candidate to become my champion!"

Romeo turned away again.

"Nothing you'd ever understand of course." Romeo bitterly stated.

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked. He had not heard any footsteps from outside the door, which was starting to alarm him.

"You never did get it, didn't you, Fred?!" Romeo snapped. "I'm trying to find a promising friend here. One that will always stick by me no matter what!"

"What do you mean? We're still your friends!" Fred protested.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Romeo retorted. He stifled a sigh.

"Ever since you and Xara ran off to create your own towns, you've never had time to hang out with me anymore. I'm just trying to keep us together for old time's sake, but when I show up day after day after day and just hearing 'Sorry, I've got a meeting to go to!' or 'Oh, I'm sorry! I'm busy looking after my town!'. It gets really tiring and tedious. That's why I'm trying to look for a champion. Someone who actually understands how to be a true friend!" Romeo ranted.

Fred was starting to feel guilty. Was Romeo really feeling left out? Was it really their fault Romeo didn't seem so happy anymore?

"Well. I'm sorry. I really am. But you should have said something sooner, we had no idea that you felt this way." Fred reasoned.

"You know what? Maybe you should have continued to schedule adventures with your friends, instead of just abandoning that life entirely in favour of running a community." Romeo said quietly, tears threatening to fall. He gasped, as if he realized something, before turning to glare at Fred.

"You've been playing me the whole time, both of you." Romeo said, accusingly. "You never cared for me at all! You just invited me along so that you could use me to benefit yourself."

"What gave you that-" Fred started.

"I get what's going on here. Find a guy to pretend to be friends with. Invite him along on some stupid adventures just to make him think that we are bonding. " Romeo seemed to glow in anger.

"BUT THE PART THAT REALLY MAKES ME MAD?! WHEN YOU, KNOWING FULL WELL THAT I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE OF BEING AN ADMIN, DECIDE TO RUN OFF TOGETHER AND DESERT ME! JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU THE MOST!" Romeo shouted.

"How can you say that?" Fred protested.

"I BET YOU NEVER WANTED ME TO BE AN ADMIN IN THE FIRST PLACE! I BET YOU WERE PLANNING TO FIND THAT ADMIN GAUNTLET YOURSELF AND STAB ME IN THE BACK ONCE YOU AND XARA FOUND IT!" Romeo almost screamed. To Fred's horror, he took on an evil grin. Xara better not still be in that doorway.

"Am I being too vague? Well, to put it simply! I despise you! I loathe you! You arrogant, cunning, awfully manipulative MONSTER OF AN ADMIN! You and your female friend behind that door! This world would have been a triumph if it wasn't for you!" Romeo accused

"That power has gone to your head!" Fred almost shouted back.

"Oh, going to take away my powers, are you? Sorry to throw a diamond pickaxe into your plans, but you failed. Let me remind you that I found that admin gauntlet first. Technically speaking, you should've been thankful to me that you have those powers right now. Let me tell you something, Fred. I don't stand for ingratitude. So, I'm going to give you a choice here. Either you join me, and we build a new world together, or else!" Romeo's tone sounded threatening.

"Are you kidding? I'm not going to join you! You're insane!" Fred accused.

"Hmm. Well, I guess that's just too bad. Guess I'll just have to remove you from the equation then."

Fred knew what the threat was before it happened, Romeo was going to kill him and Xara. He found himself getting lifted into the air.

"I really wish I didn't have to do this, but I must!" Romeo said. And Fred found himself choking. He looked towards the door and found Xara standing there, dumbfounded. Acting on auto-pilot, he dropped his entire inventory and used the strength he had left to teleport out of the building, disguising his particles as white smoke to try and fool Romeo. He had to do anything to stop himself from choking to death. He found himself hitting ground before he blacked out.

* * *

(XARA'S POV)

It happened. She could not believe that Romeo had gone and done it. He had just gone and killed Fred. Her blood began to boil and all she could see was red. She was going to kill Romeo for what he has done. She lifted herself into the air and charged towards Romeo, who dodged.

"Xara. Don't sink to Fred's level. Think about it and join me." Romeo threatened.

Xara didn't answer. She just screamed as she did another charge and managed to punch Romeo in the face.

"Okay, I'll take that as a no, then. Fine. Well. May the best Admin win." Romeo challenged.

* * *

(ROMEO'S POV)

The fight that happened lasted for several hours. Romeo wasn't going to give in, no matter how long it took. He was going to make sure Xara learned her lesson for ever going against him. She seemed to get the upper hand at first, but she was starting to become predictable. Romeo managed to out-smart her and get the upper hand. After finally managing to sub-due her, he lifted her into the air, ready to strangle her. But for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to commit murder again.

Fred's items continued to lay across the ground. He had gotten carried away and acted on impulse when he killed Fred. He was not going to do the same to Xara. He had recently managed to find out how to strip an Admin of their powers, so instead of killing her, he turned Xara back into a human again. Taking one final glance outside the window. He knew that he couldn't stay in this world. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He raised his hands and clapped them. The entire tower began to rumble, and bedrock began to block the sky.

"You're coming with me." Romeo said coldly to Xara, before they both disappeared in purple particles.

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

He wasn't sure how long he was out but rumbling somehow managed to get him awake. He was at the foot of the tower and that's when memories began to rush back into him. He was trying to talk sense into Romeo, but Romeo didn't listen. He glanced up, and to his horror, he saw bedrock filling the sky. He hoped Xara managed to get away.

"You're coming with me." He heard Romeo's voice say. And that's when he knew that Xara didn't get away. So much for his plan. At least he was still an Admin. But then a new idea appeared in his head. He had fooled Romeo into thinking he was dead.

He really didn't want to make everyone at his keep think he was dead, but if there was a slight chance of defeating Romeo, he had to take it. He was going to use his powers to infiltrate Romeo's new world. It struck him just how fast he and Romeo went from being friends to being full-blown enemies.

However, he was treading on dangerous ground here. So, he had to be careful. If Romeo caught wind of his presence in his new world, he would find himself dead before you could say 'Oh crap!'.

Putting his plan into motion, he turned invisible and teleported above the bedrock.

* * *

Author's Notes: Not sure about you guys, but to me, Romeo's voice sounds very similar to Wheatley from Portal 2, namely the accent and his backstory also seems to go in a very similar direction, namely with the whole gaining power thing and becoming corrupt. So, some of his dialogue here was inspired from Wheatley's dialogue from the end of the game.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	2. The Order of the Stone - 1

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

Choices made in the story so far:

* * *

Jesse built a creeper.

Jesse went after Reuben himself.

Jesse told Reuben to run.

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

Fred did not know exactly how long it's been since Romeo went rogue and built his new world, but he did know that it has been many decades since then. Ever since the day he had faked his death, he had taken a new identity and relocated to Romeo's new world.

He felt a twinge of guilt in his stomach whenever he thought of his old life at his keep. He didn't want to make them think he was dead, but it was necessary to make sure Romeo didn't find out he was alive. He didn't even know if Xara was still alive or not.

The disguise he was currently wearing was his human form, which was a tall Caucasian male with dark blue hair, tied back into a bun. He had blue eyes and was wearing a grey t-shirt with black sleeves, board shorts and flip-flops. It had been so long now that he almost forgot what his Admin form looked like. He was just hoping that Romeo had forgotten what his old friend looked like as a human.

Right now, he was checking out the festivities at Endercon. He had heard about some group who called themselves 'The Order of the Stone' and that one of its members was going to be there. He forgot exactly what their names were, but he did note that the citizens of this world seemed to worship them. Since he had nothing better to do, he had decided to check the festivities out. Little did he know that tonight, his life will once again be turned upside down.

He was distracted out of his thoughts by a sound of someone threatening a butcher with his sword.

"Give, me back, my pig!" The guy threatened. He was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with blue jeans and red suspenders.

"All right, you little maniac, fine! Take him, he's yours!" The butcher snapped, shoving a pig off the bench.

"C'mon Reuben." The guy said, bringing his pig with him.

Fred made a note to not get on his bad side, as he seemed to mean business. He continued on to the Usher where he displayed his ticket that he had purchased earlier that day. The Usher stepped aside, and he continued into the hall. He saw a beardy guy step in behind him.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse tapped on Olivia's shoulder, getting her attention.

"Remember that thing I had to go do with Petra?" Jesse reminded. "Long story short, we met up with this guy, he cheated me and Petra on a deal, and now we're trying to track him down. You in?"

"Oh, I'm in, all right." Olivia said, nodding.

"Any sign of him?" Petra said, approaching Jesse and Olivia. Axel was behind her.

"I thought I saw him earlier, but it was just a false alarm." Jesse said. Looking to the side, he saw the guy in question following a tall blue haired guy into the hall. "Wait! There he is! Looks like he's heading towards the hall."

"We're going to have to get past that usher to follow him." Petra observed.

"Let's go!" Jesse said, gesturing for them to follow. They approached the Usher.

"So, yeah, hey." Jesse greeted.

"What would it take to get us inside tonight?" Petra asked.

The Usher looked confused.

"Uh…tickets?" He laughed as if that was the funniest thing in the world.

"This might sound crazy, but we're actually on an important mission." Jesse explained.

"I hope your mission came with tickets to the show. 'Cause otherwise…" The Usher said, not moving an inch.

A chicken flew in front of them. The Usher flinched back in fear.

"CHICKEEEEEN!" He almost screamed. "Chicken! Chicken! Chicken!"

Jesse rolled his eyes. Was this guy seriously afraid of chickens?

"It's gone, you're totally fine, you're a totally cool dude." The Usher said to himself.

"We have to do something." Petra said.

"Like what? This show has been sold out for ages!" Olivia stated.

"I could bust right through." Axel suggested. "I just need a little wind-up room."

"We need a distraction." Jesse responded, eyeballing a chicken machine behind them. Petra caught on.

"A lot of chickens running around might be a distraction." Petra suggested.

"Shoo! Shoo!" The usher said, trying to brush away a stray chicken.

"The usher is afraid of chickens…" Jesse observed. "What would you say if I told you I wanna break this guy's chicken machine to create the mother of all distractions?"

"But you have to break that pane of glass. How're you going to reach it?" Olivia asked.

"Let's look around." Petra suggested. "There has to be something we can do."

Jesse nodded.

Looking around, he saw a guy bouncing on a slime block.

"Hmm… I bet I could reach that glass with a slime block." He said to himself.

There was just one problem, the woman who was at the till was the same woman who he had accidentally threatened earlier. Gaining courage, he stepped up.

"Ohh…heeyyy…we meet again…hehe…he.." Jesse stuttered. The woman just glared at him. "One slime block, please."

"We don't give out slime blocks here. Just slime balls." The woman answered. "But we've got a limited supply today and we're only giving out 2 per customer. You could craft your own slime block if you had 9 slime balls."

"I'm really sorry about earlier – I honestly thought you were someone else." Jesse said in response when the woman kept glaring at him.

"Apology accepted." The woman deadpanned.

"A round of slime balls for everyone, please." Axel said. He, Petra and Olivia approaching Jesse.

They bought the slimeballs and moved to go and create the slimeblock when Jesse noticed that they only had eight.

"Wait, this is only eight slimeballs, we need one more to make a block." Jesse pointed out.

"Okay. We need to find another way to get some more slime, and quick." Petra responded.

"On it!" Axel said, before rushing off.

Looking around, he saw Lukas with a slimeball. He and Lukas seemed to get along earlier, so he went and asked.

"Hey, uh, Lukas? Can you do me a favor?" Jesse asked.

"Anything's possible." Lukas responded.

"I need slime balls. I swear, I have a really good explanation." Jesse explained. He saw his friends approaching them.

"Whatever you guys are doing, count me in." Lukas said, handing Jesse the slimeball.

"Thanks, Lukas." Petra said. "Told you he was useful."

"Aw, man. This guy isn't actually cool, is he?" Axel said, glaring at Lukas.

"Remains to be seen." Olivia said.

"It's craftin' time." Jesse said, moving to the crafting table. He put all 9 slimeballs into every slot.

"So, you guys been building together long? You've got good chemistry." Lukas complimented.

"You jealous?" Axel retorted.

"I'm just saying, I think it's cool you have a team that works so well together." Lukas defended.

"You're totally jealous." Axel said.

Jesse finished crafting.

"Ta-da! One slime block!" Jesse announced. "Gross!"

"I'll take that." Olivia said, taking the slime block. "Riiight there."

She put the slimeblock in the middle of the walk way.

"It's all you, Jesse." Axel said

"Gimme a boost!" Jesse told Axel, gesturing towards the roof of a stall.

Using Axel's body. Jesse climbed to the top of the stall. He prepared himself and then a running jump off the stall, landing on the slime block and bouncing off it towards the stall.

"Weeee!" Jesse exclaimed as he flew towards the glass. He prepared his fist and smashed it into the machine, sending chickens flying everywhere.

"My poultry! My previous poultry!" The guy running the stall cried out, running towards the broken machine.

"Keep your eyes closed! They will peck out your eyes!" The usher said, running towards the chaos. A chicken knocked him over. He screamed as chickens flew over him.

"Now's our chance!" Petra said. The group started running towards the hall, in pursuit of Ivor.

"Hey!" The usher called out, spotting the group before getting pushed over by another chicken.

The group entered the hall.

* * *

"Where'd he go?" Petra asked looking around.

"There!" Jesse answered, looking at a door that was hanging open a crack. "Through that door!"

They ran towards the door.

"What do we do once we catch him?" Lukas asked. "There are a million ways to play this."

"We 'politely' ask for what's ours." Jesse answered, putting a lot of emphasis on 'politely'.

"Short, sweet and to the point. Not bad." Lukas commented.

"Ready?" Jesse asked. Petra flexed her arms out.

"Ready!" She answered.

And they descended into the basement.

"See anything?" Jesse asked as they looked inside.

"He must have gone out another way." Petra answered, noticing that the place was unoccupied.

"What is all this?" Olivia asked.

"Looks like it used to be the basement. Weird place to have a hideout." Jesse commented.

"I bet you anything I'll find my wither skull here." Petra stated.

"And if we find anything else cool to steal along the way, so be it, right?" Axel added.

"Axel, that's not what we're here to do." Petra said.

"I said we should ask politely, Axel." Jesse reminded.

"Yeah, but if the guy's not here, we can't ask. So, I say we take!" Axel defended.

"I don't want to stoop to his level." Petra insisted.

"But isn't that the best way to get back at him?" Axel asked, confused.

"Let's focus on finding the skull, not stealing." Jesse said.

"Nobody ever lets me have any fun." Axel complained.

"We let you hang out with us." Jesse pointed out. "The faster we find what we're looking for, the faster we can get the heck out of here."

They had a look around the maze of books. They were mostly about brewing. Noticing Petra digging in a chest, he went to investigate.

"Oh, hello." Petra greeted, before swinging a sword around, barely missing his face.

"Too heavy. And too soft." Petra said, not impressed.

"But super flashy." Jesse commented.

"Yeah, I don't think this guy does much fighting." Petra agreed. "Hey, you still have that one stone sword, right?"

"Yeah, I had to wave it at this jerk-wad butcher earlier. Y'know, to save Reuben's life." Jesse stated.

"Impressive." Petra said, sheathing the sword. So much for not stooping to his level.

"You're keeping it? But I thought it was too soft, too heavy." Jesse complained.

"Eh, it still might come in handy." Petra said. "And it 'is' super flashy."

Jesse continued on, before looking at a fancy enchanted potion. It seemed to glow.

"Oooooh, take a look at this!" Jesse commented.

Axel approached him.

"You're not gonna believe me, but I swear I had a dream about this." Axel said, almost drooling at the sight of it. "Okay, potion – I know this is a big step, but… I would be honored if you'd come home with me."

"C'mon, Axel. Make yourself useful and go find that skull." Jesse reminded him.

"I am." Axel answered, before picking up and pocketing the potion.

"Nope. You're literally doing the exact opposite of what I just asked you to do." Jesse deadpanned. "There's no way he won't notice his fancy potion is missing."

"A good thief always covers his tracks." Axel said, grabbing a random potion. He placed it down on the pedestal. "Fixed it."

"Oh, yeah. The perfect crime." Jesse complimented. He approached a lever on the wall and flipped it.

A bookshelf moved out of the way, revealing soul sand and a strange block arranged into a T shape.

"What the hell is all this stuff?" Jesse asked.

"Soul Sand. It was everywhere in the nether." Petra commented.

"What about that block in the middle?"

"I've never seen one of these before." Olivia said, approaching the block. She pressed her hand on it. "I wonder if I just, take a closer look."

"Do you feel that? It's… almost pulsing."

"Don't touch that, Olivia!" Jesse yelled, approaching her.

"I was just curious." Olivia defended.

"Don't forget what we're here for, find that skull." Jesse reminded, once again. He noticed a chest underneath the weird block, he opened it up. It was the skull.

"Soooo, good news, weird news." He called out. "I found the skull but…"

"What the hell? Why'd I risk my neck for that skull if he's got two of them already?" Petra complained. "He was in such a hurry to get it, too."

"This is gotta be connected somehow." Jesse said, out-loud. "The chest with the skulls was hidden back here with everything else, that's gotta mean something."

"But what?" Petra asked.

"I think I know what's going on here." Lukas said, paling.

"Soul Sand, plus three wither skulls. That's the recipe for a Wither."

"But a wither, that's…" Petra started.

"One of the worst monsters there is." Lukas finished.

"We came down here to find the skull. Well, we found it." Jesse announced.

"Maybe we should just grab it, and get out of here, while we still can." Petra suggested. Jesse went to grab the skull when a door sound interrupted him. That only meant one thing, Ivor's here.

"Uh, guys?" Lukas asked.

"Scatter!" Petra said. The group ran to different hiding places.

Ivor entered the room.

"Don't you recognize me?" He called out. He seemed to be rehearsing something. "Or wait. 'Surprise to see me?' No, that's not good. 'Thought you were rid of me, didn't you?' That's better."

A bottle clanking sound snapped him out of his thoughts.

"What was that!" Ivor said. "Who's there?"

He ran to the bottle that was lying on the ground.

Jesse, acting on impulse, decided to get his attention.

"Over here, jerk!" He called out.

"What are you doing here?!" Ivor asked. "What did you see?!"

"Leave him alone!" Petra commanded.

"Yeah, back off, pal!" Axel threatened.

"You two?!" Ivor said, a glare written on his face. "Did you follow me here?"

"You thought you could just screw us over and get away with it, didn't you?" Petra accused.

"We're here to prove you wrong." Jesse threatened.

"What are you going to do about it?" Ivor asked, mockingly. "I have what I want and you have exactly what you earned. Now get out before I put you out."

"We know what you're doing down here." Jesse said. "Soul sand and three wither skulls? You're building a Wither!"

"Heh, smarter than you look." Ivor commented.

"Hey! Nobody talks to my friends like that!" Axel said, dangerously approaching Ivor. "Now shut your mouth, or else!"

"Enough! You've wasted too much of my time already." Ivor said, before speeding off.

"Where'd he go?" Petra asked.

"If you won't leave of your own volition, I'll happily remove you myself." Ivor threatened, as he created an iron golem.

"Show our friends the door, will you?" He commanded the golem. The golem went to attack the group. After dodging a few hits, they ran out the door.

* * *

Back in the stage area, they saw that the place was now crowded.

"Oh man, this is so exciting." A woman on the stage exclaimed.

"It sure is!" A man responded.

"And now, for the first time ever here at Endercon! We are very proud to present…."

"The one, the only!"

They stepped aside.

"GABRIEL!"

Said warrior was standing behind them on the stage, he turned around and walked towards the crowd.

The crowd almost exploded with excitement.

"Please, please!" Gabriel said, calming the crowd down. "Thank you!"

He took a breath.

"ARE! YOU! WITH ME!?" He called out.

The crowd exploded again.

Meanwhile, Jesse's group was hunched together near the back.

"Everybody okay?" Jesse asked.

"Um, guys? Where's Lukas?" Olivia asked, noticing that he was not with them.

"I thought he was right behind me." Jesse said, looking behind to notice that he was not there.

"Well, if he's not here, the only place he could be is…" Axel said, eying the door.

"He's still down there." Jesse realized.

"Ivor's got an iron golem and all the ingredients to build a Wither down there, if he were to unleash it in this crowd of people…We have to act fast!" Petra said.

"It just so happens that the greatest warrior of all time is in the building." Olivia pointed out. "We should ask Gabriel for help. This is the smartest way to help Lukas."

"He's tough. I just hope he's tough enough to hold out a little bit longer." Petra said.

"We need Gabriel to get Lukas back." Jesse agreed. "And to deal with everything else we saw down there."

"We're doing the right thing, Jesse. I just hope Lukas can hold out against that Golem for long enough for us to get help." Petra added.

"Come on then." Olivia said.

"Let's crash this party!" Axel added.

"With the right training, and guidance, anyone… and I mean anyone can become a hero!" Gabriel pointed out. "You just have to believe it!"

"We just gotta push through this crowd to get to Gabriel." Jesse assured them.

They started moving through the crowd towards the front of the theater. They finally managed to get to Gabriel at the front. Jesse put his hand up to get Gabriel's attention.

"Yes, next." Gabriel answered. He looked at Jesse. "What question do you have for the mighty Gabriel?"

"I saw something scary in the basement!" Jesse answered.

"I'm not following." Gabriel said, confused.

"This creep's been building a monster down there! I'm telling you, he's trouble!" Jesse explained. He wasn't sure Gabriel believed him.

"Is that so? Well, as you all know, trouble is what I do best." Gabriel answered.

"I'm not making it up! We really need your help." Jesse pleaded.

"Hmm. Perhaps we should have this checked out." Gabriel suggested.

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

Fred honestly didn't think it was possible for him to face-palm any harder right now. That guy with the red suspenders from before was not doing a very good job of convincing Gabriel about the threat that was supposedly down in the basement.

Before anything else could happen, a voice called out from the crowd.

"I have a question for you."

"Excuse me, sir. You'll have to wait your turn." Gabriel answered.

"Just tell me first. Do you really believe anyone can be great?" The voice questioned.

"With enough hard work, yes." Gabriel responded.

"Was that where I went wrong, I didn't work hard enough?" The voice asked, it was the beardy guy from before.

"Ivor?" Gabriel said, dumbfounded. "Is that really you."

Fred's interest piqued up.

"How dare you interrupt like this!" He said angrily.

"That's the guy who attacked us in the basement." The guy with the suspenders said.

"I wish I could say I was surprised." Gabriel retorted.

"If it's surprises you want, you're in for a treat." Ivor said. "Why don't you tell them the real story, Gabriel?"

"I see time has made you bitter!" Gabriel said.

"And it's made you an even bigger fool." Ivor spat. "Now, these people were promised greatness, and I'm ready to deliver."

"Gabriel, you have to stop him." Suspenders called out.

Ivor flipped a switch, raising a contraption. It was in a T-Shape with soul sand, wither skulls and, wait. Is that Romeo's old command block!? Fred inadvertently forgot all about his disguise when he saw it, revealing his Admin form for the first time in 94 years. (See A/N)

"Nothing built can last forever, Gabriel." Ivor spat, approaching it with the third wither skull.

Fred floated up and moved towards the stage in his Admin form. Disguise be damned, Fred had to stop Ivor. Using telekinesis, he pushed the crowd aside. None of them had any idea of when they were about to create.

"NO! STOP!" Fred screamed as he flew towards Ivor.

Too late, Ivor had placed the final skull on top of the command block. An explosion knocked himself, Ivor and Gabriel off the stage.

* * *

Author's Notes: Eric Stirpe, the writer of Minecraft: Story Mode, confirmed that 100 years had passed between the bedrocking and when Jesse freed Xara from her cell in the Sunshine Institute. Since Season 2 takes place 5-7 years after Season 1. (Confirmed by Eric) We will round that to 6, therefore we take 6 from 100 which equals 94.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	3. The Order of the Stone - 2

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

* * *

A wither was rising out of the ruin that the explosion created. To Fred's horror, it wasn't just any old wither, this wither had the command block attached to its body.

Fred floated up in the air in-front of the stage and created a bubble around the wither, attempting to block it from harming the people. He turned to the crowd.

"Okay, everybody. Evacuate the building now!" Fred ordered, holding the wither in his bubble. The crowd was already exiting the building in fear.

"Creature! Attack!" Ivor commanded, and the wither gave a huge roar before exploding out of its bubble and proceeding to attack the small group that was still in the theatre, the suspenders guy and Gabriel being a part of them.

"What are you guys doing!? I said evacuate the building!" Fred almost snapped at them. The group didn't move.

And then the wither did the one thing that Fred hoped wouldn't happen, it began to suck up blocks. Fred couldn't vanish this wither because it was being controlled by the command block, which happened to be the only thing that Admin powers cannot affect.

"Everyone stay calm! This foul beast is no match for me!" Gabriel called out as he pulled out a regular diamond sword.

"Gabriel, no!" Fred tried to stop Gabriel, but he didn't seem to listen.

"Creature, attack!" Ivor commanded again.

Gabriel jumped up and smacked the command block with this sword. It didn't even make a single dent.

"What have you done?" Gabriel asked, fear within his voice.

"Gabriel!" The suspenders guy called out.

"No! Stay away, it's after me. Not you!" Gabriel said, putting an arm out to stop him.

"Look at them! The mighty Gabriel and that floating glowing blue guy! Looks like true greatness is out of their reach!" Ivor commented, clearly enjoying this. "They may not be able to defeat this creature, but I can!"

Ivor turned towards the Wither.

"Creature, retreat!" Ivor commanded. The wither just looked at him. Fred face-palmed again, of course it's not that simple.

"Ahem! Creature, retreat!" Ivor repeated. "Retreat, I said! Retreat!"

"Ivor, what are you doing?" The suspenders guy called out.

"Ah, no need to be alarmed, my friends." Ivor said, alarmed himself. "I have an elixir that will destroy this creature." Ivor pulled out a potion.

"That potion, is that?" Suspenders asked, going pale.

"Uh oh." The guy in the green shirt added.

Ivor threw the potion. It did absolutely nothing.

Fred slowly clapped.

"Congratulations, jerk! You created a monster and you don't even know how to destroy it?" Fred retorted while clapping.

"Wha- No, no. It should have worked. I took such great care." Ivor said, going deathly pale.

"Listen, idiot. That thing is a command block. You can't just destroy it with a measly potion." Fred explained.

"The potion, Axel! You've got to throw the real potion." The girl with the goggles said. Fred turned his glare towards Axel.

"But, finders keepers!" Axel defended.

"You thieves, you're ruining everything." Ivor yelled, accusingly.

"Oh my god, just give it here!" Fred said, snatching it out of Axel's hands. He aimed and threw the potion.

The Wither, which had grown in size, anticipated Fred's next move and covered the command block. Yep. This was bad.

"It's protecting itself, without the command block exposed. The potion is useless." Ivor said, as pale as the moon in the night sky. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

And he turned around and ran.

"IVOR! YOU COWARD, COME BACK HERE!" Gabriel shouted after him.

The wither, whose middle head had mutated, grabbed Gabriel with a purple tractor beam. Fred floated up and attempted to pull Gabriel free. It was harder than he expected, even with all that strength being an Admin gave him.

"Y'know, I could actually use a hand here." Fred called out to the group. Suspenders and Goggle Girl grabbed onto Gabriel and the three of them managed to tug him free.

"Thank you." Gabriel said as he hit the ground. "You, glowing blue guy. Can't you defeat it. You seem very powerful."

"No, I can't." Fred admitted. "I admit, I am powerful, near-infinitely powerful to be precise, but that command block is the one thing I can't manipulate using my powers."

"Damn!" Gabriel exclaimed under his breath. "Everyone's running away, except for you, though." He turned towards the group. "Will you guys please help me?"

"I must get back to my temple, but what needs to happen next. I can't do alone." Gabriel explained.

"Of course!" Suspenders answered. Fred just nodded.

"Follow me." Gabriel instructed.

* * *

Back outside, Fred gestured them all out of the hall before casting another shield bubble, intending to try and trap the Wither inside. It lasted for about two seconds before an explosion tore through the roof and vaporized the bubble again. The wither, which had now grown much larger and mutated, floated out of the ruins. All three heads were now mutated and sported tractor beams.

"Romeo, just how powerful did you make that damn block?" Fred said to himself, mesmerized by the monstrosity floating above the hall. It started to move forward, and Fred could only watch in horror as people were sucked up and consumed by the growing Wither. He was distracted out of his thoughts by a pleading voice inside a tractor beam.

"Hey! I'm up here! Somebody help me! Guys?!" Suspenders pleaded, floating up into the tractor beam.

"Don't worry! I've got you!" Fred said, offering a hand. He helped the suspenders guy out of the tractor beam. They both landed on the ground.

"Thanks. Didn't catch your name." Suspenders said.

"You're welcome." Fred responded. "And it's Fred."

"Jesse." The guy responded. "Now let's move."

"Agreed." Fred said.

They looked at the pandemonium that was going on around them. Fred saw a guy on a slimeblock get sucked up alongside some other poor citizens. They continued on, before running into a blonde guy.

"Lukas!" Jesse called out.

"You guys just left me down there! Abandoned me!" Lukas accused.

"No! We were trying to warn Gabriel and get him to help!" Jesse defended.

"Quit arguing and get a move on!" Fred yelled, irritated by all these distractions.

"Jesse!" A redhead in a bandana called out. Jesse and Lukas approached the group who was hiding under a stall. A tractor beam found them and started ripping the stall apart.

"Wait, wait! We have to stay together!" Jesse called out as the group ran away.

"Jesse, help me!" Bandana called out as she was stuck in the tractor beam. Fred and Jesse helped her out of the tractor beam, with a little bit of help from Gabriel as well.

"Do we still have everyone?" Jesse asked, panting. Gabriel ran past him.

"We must set out for my fortress, we'll be better protected there." Gabriel said as he sprinted off. Fred and the group joined them.

"Thanks for that, just now." Bandana said to Fred and Jesse.

"Don't mention it." Fred responded.

"Yeah, now we're even." Jesse added.

Fred saw a creeper build get devoured by a tractor beam as they ran past it.

"Incoming!" Bandana said. Sure enough, flaming wither skulls were coming down on them. They managed to get to the gate, which was closing.

"Ugh, bloody idiots! Don't they realize that thing can just fly over the fences." Fred complained. "And besides, they're trapping them in there by doing that."

"Yeah. Stupid." Jesse agreed as they ran from the town. The mutated wither seemed to be following them. They ran into the woods.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

"Stay together, everyone!" Gabriel called out. "We'll be safe as soon as we get to my temple."

Jesse took a look behind him. That wither thingy was just as close as ever. With a scream, he continued running.

"Everyone! Keep going!" Gabriel called out again. "We'll meet you on the other side."

The group seemed to be splitting up. On the left, he saw Gabriel, Lukas, Petra and the rest of the ocelots while on the right, he saw Reuben, Fred, Axel, Olivia and the butcher from earlier. He followed the right path.

After some more running, they saw the temple in the distance. Unfortunately, the tentacles from the mutant wither also caught up with them. He saw Fred disappear in purple particles when a tentacle threatened to hit him, only to reappear a few seconds later. Jesse would have to ask him about that.

After some dodging, they made it inside.

"The inner chamber is built entirely out of obsidian. We should be untouchable in there." Gabriel announced as they entered. He flipped a lever and the doors opened. A tractor beam came in through the door way.

"EVERYBODY! GET IN!" Fred ordered.

"Hurry! If you can get through the portal, you'll be safe." Gabriel added.

They went towards the portal, Axel running through it, before realizing it's not lit.

"Uh, somethings not right here." Axel said, confused.

"It's not lit." Olivia exclaimed.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Fred retorted. Jesse took out his flint and steel and lit it.

"Everybody, get in! NOW!" Petra ordered.

They looked behind them, Gabriel seemed to be having trouble.

"Gabriel!" Jesse cried out before running after him, only for Fred to appear out of purple particles in his path.

"No, Jesse!" Fred said in a no-nonsense tone. "You heard her, get through the portal."

"No. I'm staying here." Jesse insisted stubbornly, before pushing past Fred. He raced to Gabriel and grabbed him, tugging him free from the tentacle.

"Thank you!" Gabriel said, he looked at the crowd who were getting sucked up by the Wither outside. He looked guilty. "There are so many of them, I can't save them all. I can't stop this by myself. We need to find the others."

"Others?" Jesse questioned.

"Soren's been missing for years, but the others. You must seek them out." Gabriel explained. He pulled out an amulet. "Take this amulet, and guard it with your life."

Jesse hesitated.

"You can do this. You must!" Gabriel insisted.

"What? Why me?" Jesse asked.

"I believe in you. Take the amulet." Gabriel started. "Take it through the portal, and then-"

But he was interrupted by another tentacle crashing in through the ceiling. Jesse saw the first tentacle smack Petra against the wall. Jesse pulled out his stone sword and proceeded to attack it. Petra flew in and snapped the end of the tentacle off with the golden sword she stole from earlier.

"You two." Petra said, addressing Jesse and Lukas. "Go through the portal and meet up with the others. I'll stay here and do whatever I can."

Petra ran towards Gabriel.

"Go on, Jesse. Go!" Petra ordered. "Get through that portal, now!"

"Petra, you've got to go through the portal with us!" Jesse demanded.

"Sorry, Jesse. This is something I've got to do." Petra insisted. "If anything happens, I'll meet you guys at the temple."

Before Jesse could move, a tractor beam came down and grabbed Gabriel, Petra went to save him, but was grabbed by another tractor beam.

"WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE, JESSE!?" Fred screamed, starting to get angry, but Jesse was focused on Gabriel and Petra who were inside the tractor beams. After dodging a tentacle, he raced up and grabbed Petra out of the tractor beam.

"Thanks Jesse!" Petra said, before looking at Gabriel. "Gabriel's still up there!"

Fred jumped up and grabbed Gabriel out of the tractor beam. Jesse let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. He moved toward the portal. Taking a moment to look back, he saw a tentacle catch Fred by surprise, smack him into Jesse which launched him into Lukas and the three of them all fell through the nether portal.

* * *

Author's notes: With Fred being alive in this story and me including him. I've decided to make him useful somehow, starting with Gabriel. I've tried to prevent him from being a Mary Sue by making the Command Block resistant against Admins.

Another thing, I know this is a fairly short chapter. But I wanted to have the Wither-Storm chase and the Nether part in two separate chapters. And yes, I am planning on doing both the Portal Hallway-Arc and the Admin-Arc as sequels to this story.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	4. The Order of the Stone - 3

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse, Fred and Lukas flew out of the portal and onto the rough ground of the nether. Taking a moment to let the pain ease, Jesse stood up and faced the portal.

"Where's Petra?" Axel asked.

"We did everything we could." Lukas responded.

"What are you saying?" Axel inquired.

"Jesse, what is he talking about?" Olivia stepped in. "Because it doesn't sound…."

"It was chaos. There wasn't much I could do." Jesse admitted.

"He's right." Fred added. "That thing caught me by surprise."

"Petra is still up there." Jesse finished.

"I got scared, just for a second." Lukas confessed. Axel began to approach Lukas dangerously.

"You got scared?" Axel repeated.

"It wasn't my fault." Lukas continued.

"You got scared and it's not your fault?" Axel threatened. He looked like he was about to punch Lukas.

Fred cut in between them.

"Hey, HEY!" Fred exclaimed, breaking up the confrontation. "Stand down, big guy!"

Axel stopped and turned around.

"We gotta go back." Axel stated, then moved toward the portal. Olivia stepped in.

"No! We just have to wait." Olivia reasoned. "Think about what you're walking into."

"There's nothing you can do." Jesse admitted. "You'll just end up getting yourself killed."

"You don't know that! You don't know…" Axel retorted.

The portal began to swirl up.

"Hey, there she is!" Lukas exclaimed, pointing toward the portal.

"Come on, come on!" Jesse said, hoping it was Petra. A figure fell out of the portal. It wasn't Petra.

It was Ivor.

"You again!" Ivor said, fixing another glare at Jesse.

But before anything else could happen, a tentacle burst through the portal. With a swing, it latched itself onto the portal, crushing it. Somehow the tentacle managed to disappear through the portal even though it was already broken.

"Ivor." Jesse said, glaring right back at Ivor.

"You ruined everything!" Ivor accused.

"Excuse me?!" Fred exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Don't pretend you don't know, thief. You took my most valuable potion." Ivor continued.

Jesse curled his right hand into a fist and shoved it into Ivor's face.

"More needless violence." Ivor commented. "It solves nothing. Learn the lesson now or share the world's fate. There's nothing left up there! Nothing but that Wither Storm!"

"What? 'Wither Storm?'" Fred retorted. "Is that what you're calling that monstrosity?"

"Why are we wasting time talking to this jerk?" Axel demanded. "We have to go and get Petra!"

"The girl, I saw her." Ivor admitted.

"What?" Lukas asked.

"While I was running toward the portal, I passed her." Ivor continued. "She and Gabriel were running in the opposite direction."

He paused.

"Such bravery." Ivor commented. "Of course, there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. And they have crossed it."

"You're a coward!" Jesse accused.

"Maybe. But I survived. And that's what counts." Ivor stated.

"There's more to life than survival." Jesse informed.

"Without survival, there is no life." Ivor retorted. "Through that tunnel is a network of mine carts built by the Order of the Stone. It's your only way out."

"We should go that way." Axel suggested, agreeing with Ivor.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he might be right." Jesse admitted it.

"Bravo for embracing the truth." Ivor mock-complimented.

A noise interrupted them.

"What was that?" Axel asked.

"I would wish you good luck, but luck won't carry you through the Nether." Ivor said. "You have my sympathies."

He took out a potion of invisibility and drank it, vanishing.

Right then and there, a ghast showed up.

"GO!" Fred ordered.

"Let's get out of here!" Axel added.

"Run!" Jesse screamed.

Fred sent a shockwave at the Ghast, knocking it back before turning and running. They approached a set of mine-carts.

"This must be what Ivor was talking about." Olivia pointed out.

The Ghast caught up and sent a fireball at them. They dodged it.

The group ran and jumped onto the minecarts, which sped away, taking the group with them.

* * *

"Didn't really catch your names earlier." Fred said as they continued along the track.

"I'm Jesse." Jesse pointed out.

"Olivia." Olivia said.

"Axel."

"Lukas"

Fred nodded.

"Oh no!" Jesse exclaimed, seeing a drop ahead.

"Oh, that's a drop. That is very much a drop." Lukas panicked.

"What are you talking about, new guy? What dro- Oh crap! You weren't kidding." Axel said.

"Everybody, hold on!" Jesse ordered.

And they went down the steep slope. Jesse and Lukas were holding onto the carts, Olivia was covering her eyes while Fred and Axel looked like they were enjoying it. They reached the bottom.

"Pfft! Pansies, the whole lot of you!" Fred mocked.

"Hey!" Axel retorted.

"Oh no!" Jesse exclaimed again. He ducked his head to dodge the low overpass. He raised his head but had to duck again to dodge another low overpass. But that wasn't the last of the obstacles. A lava curtain was blocking their path ahead.

"Okay, I'm not the only one seeing that we're running out of track, right?" Axel asked.

"No!" Lukas responded.

"Good!" Axel finished.

They saw a lever to the side.

"Jesse! That switch! Now! Do it!" Olivia ordered.

"Oh arms, don't fail me now." Jesse stumbled as he held out his arm. He caught the lever and switched it. The minecarts stopped in their tracks as the track began to lower.

"Haha, wow. I thought something bad was going to happen there but, heh, I guess everything's going to be-"

Jesse couldn't finish as the tracks started splitting up the minecarts and sending them in different directions, Jesse ending up alone.

"Uh, Axel? Olivia? Reuben? Fred? Anybody?!" Jesse called out. An alarmed squeal came from his right, which belonged to Reuben. He was getting attacked by a skeleton.

The tracks moved closer together, which gave Jesse a shot to get rid of the Skeleton.

"Hang on, Reuben!" Jesse called as he pulled out his stone sword, ready to attack the Skeleton.

Using his sword, he attacked the skeleton and pushed him off the cart into the pool of lava below.

"Reuben!" Jesse exclaimed happily as he saw that Reuben was okay. Reuben jumped into the minecart on his track.

"Okay Reuben, remember when I said everything was going to be just fine before? I know I was wrong then but I have a very good feeling about- WOAH!"

A ghast flew past him and joined up with 2 other ghasts. It sent a fireball at Jesse.

"DUCK!" Jesse exclaimed as he inadvertently used his sword to knock the fireball back. He looked at his sword and then used it to knock more fireballs back until all three ghasts were dead.

"Well. Ghasts are officially crossed off my to-see list. Done with ghasts. Never need to see them-"

As the minecart turned around, there was another ghast there.

"Oh crap." Jesse said. The ghast sent another fireball at them, knocking the minecart behind him off and throwing Reuben into his cart. The cart went up a hill.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad." Jesse exclaimed as the track ended and they went flying over the pool of lava, before landing on another track.

His cart bumped into the back of Lukas's cart. He saw Olivia, Fred and Axel in-front of him. They turned to look at him.

"Is… Ha. Is everyone okay?" Jesse asked.

"I mean I'm not dead. I guess that's pretty good." Axel replied.

"Ditto. Ditto with the not dead." Olivia added.

"I just can't believe that Petra comes down here all the time, this place is awful!" Lukas commented. "Your throat's going to be sore later, Axel."

"Why?" Axel asked.

"'Cause, I dunno. Maybe it was all that girly screaming that you were doing before?" Fred answered.

"Hey, speak for yourselves you fraidy cats. Reuben and I handled ourselves just fine. Isn't that right, Reuben?" Jesse retorted.

"I find that really hard to believe." Fred deadpanned. Lukas just looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Pfft what? No. 'You' screamed… like a piglet… is who did the piglet-like screaming." Jesse responded to Lukas' look.

The minecarts finally arrived at their destination. The group started walking up the stairs.

"Can you throw up like… inside your body?" Jesse asked.

"Uh-huh. I know because I just did, about five times." Olivia responded.

"Be thankful that you can't teleport then." Fred added. "Because those minecarts are a walk in the park compared to how that feels."

"Fred, I've been meaning to ask you. What's up with your skin? It's all blue. And while we were running away from the Wither-Storm, you seemed to disappear and reappear again. What's up with that?" Jesse questioned.

"Damn." Fred whispered under his breath.

"What?" Jesse questioned.

And Fred flashed a blue-white for a second before it dimmed. His hair and shape of his face was the same, but his skin was now a Caucasian color, his eyes were blue instead of orange and he was wearing a grey t-shirt with black sleeves, board shorts and flip-flops. Looking at him closely, Jesse noticed that he was just as big as Axel.

"Before I can tell you this, you swear something to me." Fred instructed.

"What is it?" Jesse asked.

"You must swear to never reveal to anyone what I am about to tell you." Fred said.

"Fred. I solemnly swear that I will never reveal your secret." Jesse swore.

"Thank you." Fred responded. "I am an Admin."

"An ad-what now?" Axel asked.

"Admin. What that means is that I have this near-infinite power." Fred responded.

"Well. If you're so powerful, can't you do something about that Wither-Storm?" Jesse asked.

"No. I can't, because of two reasons." Fred admitted. "Reason number One: The wither-storm is being powered by the command block, which is resistant to Admin powers."

"Okay." Jesse said.

"Reason number Two: My old friend, Romeo betrayed me a long time ago and ever since then, I've been playing dead so that he won't come after me to finish the job." Fred continued.

"You see, when an Admin uses their powers, they leave behind a residue, which lasts for about an hour. I was able to get away with teleporting while running from the Wither-storm because the command block masked my residue. If I went to the surface right now and started teleporting, Romeo would be on to me faster than you could blink."

"And who is this 'Romeo' person anyway?" Jesse asked.

"He's an Admin, just like me. However, he uses his powers for malicious purposes, while I try and use the powers to help people." Fred responded. "He was the creator of that command block that is powering the Wither-storm."

"Yeah, a lot of that was way over my head." Lukas admitted.

"Agreed." Olivia added.

"However, that's not important right now. Right now, we have to worry about finding a way to defeat that Wither-storm." Fred said, changing the topic of the conversation.

Jesse looked around.

"Look at this place." He commented.

"All these tracks converge at this point. You could probably get anywhere in the world from here." Olivia added.

Jesse saw the portal.

"There's the portal." Jesse pointed out.

"This is what Gabriel was talking about." Lukas added.

"That's our way out." Axel said, before moving toward the portal.

"It must lead back to the surface." Olivia added.

"The surface is also where that creature is." Lukas stated.

"He's right. We have no idea what we're walking into. It could be dangerous." Jesse reasoned.

Axel turned to the portal.

"Thanks for being so brave, Axel." Lukas complimented.

"All right. I'm gonna go. I'm going. I'm going right now." Axel said. He did not move an inch.

"Like right, right now."

"I just need to make sure I have everything I'll need.

"I'll go first." Jesse said.

"That's not what I was saying." Axel responded.

"I'm going." Jesse insisted.

"Well, if you absolutely insist." Axel said, giving in.

"Well, see you guys on the other side, I guess." Jesse said.

"Be careful." Fred responded.

"Thanks Jesse." Axel said.

And with that, Jesse stepped through the portal.

* * *

Jesse found himself stepping into water. Looking around, he saw that it was still night out. And there was no Wither-Storm or temple in sight.

"Okay, not what I was expecting." Jesse commented.

A groan snapped his attention to his right. It was a zombie. Pulling out his sword, he attacked it, killing it.

"Oh, man. That was close." He said, panting.

Axel stepped out of the portal, raising an eyebrow at Jesse having his sword out.

"There was a zombie." Jesse explained.

"Oh, is it dead? I mean, you know, dead-dead?" Axel asked.

"Yeah." Jesse responded.

And the rest of the group came out and followed them out of the water.

"Where are we?" Olivia asked.

"In the dark, in the middle of nowhere." Jesse responded, looking at the full moon.

"Maybe we should bed down for the night." Lukas suggested. "It's dangerous to be out when it's this dark."

"I thought we were headed toward a temple." Axel said.

"We're looking for a giant building. It should be pretty obvious." Olivia said.

"Ivor said-" Lukas started.

"Ohhhh. 'Ivor said.' Well then maybe this is the temple." Axel retorted sarcastically. "I'm being sarcastic."

"Axel. Come on." Olivia reprimanded.

"The Order wouldn't build all that track for nothing. It's gotta be here somewhere." Jesse reassured.

"Yeah, that's that I was thinking." Lukas added.

"My suggestion would be that we build uh…" Fred started.

"Uhhhhh." Axel retorted.

"A shelter. That's the word I was looking for." Fred finished.

"I say we build a treehouse." Olivia suggested.

"That'll take forever, and we'll be exposed while we do it. We just need a quick and dirty hut." Axel responded.

"Look, whatever it is? We gotta do it fast." Lukas added. Olivia and Axel just stared at him.

"What?" He said, uncomfortable.

"In a hut, we won't know what's coming until it's knocking on our door." Olivia stated.

"A treehouse is going to be spider town, I hate spiders." Axel argued.

"Oh my god, just choose already!" Fred exclaimed.

"Let's build a treehouse." Jesse spoke out.

"It's functional." Olivia agreed. "It'll keep us out of danger."

"It's not a bad idea." Lukas also agreed.

"All right, fine." Axel conceded.

"Let's get started then." Jesse said.

They spent the next 10 or so minutes gathering materials. Once they got the materials ready, they built the treehouse, with a tower of wood with a ladder so they can get down again in the morning.

"If I wake up with a spider on my face, I'm going to expect you to deal with it." Axel commented.

"Lower your expectations, Axel." Olivia responded.

"Well, maybe if we'd built into the tree a little bit more, it couldn've….Nevermind. It's—This is fine. It's good!" Lukas said.

"Looks good, guys." Jesse agreed as they climbed the ladder.

Later in the night, Jesse and Olivia were sitting around a fire that they had lit. Fred seemed to be watching the land in the distance a lot while Axel just paced around. Lukas was sitting in a corner.

"Oh, man." Axel suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Olivia questioned.

"I'm going to tell you something, you have to promise not to freak out." Axel explained.

"What is it?" Jesse asked.

"I have cookies." Axel said. Pulling out a cookie. "One for me."

He approached Olivia. "One for Olivia."

He approached Jesse. "One for Jesse."

"And one for Reuben." He said, leaving a cookie in front of Reuben.

Axel turned to Fred and Lukas.

"Sorry, guys. I only have four." Axel said.

"Oh, no. It's- It's all right. I'm not that hungry anyway." Lukas admitted. Jesse stood up and gave his cookie to Lukas.

"Take it, Lukas." Jesse said.

"Oh, no, no. I—can't do that." Lukas declined.

"I insist." Jesse insisted, pushing the cookie into Lukas' hand.

"Thank you, Jesse." He said.

"Sorry, Fred." Jesse said.

"No, it's fine. Admins don't need food anyway." Fred responded, still watching the distance. Jesse walked back to his place by the fire.

"That was for you, Jesse. Not him." Axel exclaimed, dumbfounded. He sent a glare at Lukas.

Olivia turned to Lukas.

"If you had to, which would you rather fight? A hundred chicken-sized zombies, or ten zombie-sized chickens." Olivia said.

"Choose wisely." Jesse added.

"That's a good one. Let me think." Lukas said.

"How can you guys joke at a time like this?" Axel asked. "Petra is still out there. She's all by herself."

"No, she's not." Fred said. "I managed to rescue Gabriel as well, so they are both out there."

"Still though, gotta keep our spirits high. We can't just mope." Jesse said.

"No. We should be moping. That's exactly what we should be doing." Axel retorted.

"Fine, then. We should get some rest. We gotta start looking for temple as early as we can." Lukas suggested. "Now, my guess is, if we start at the portal and kind of split up –"

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Axel interrupted.

"Did I do something to you?" Lukas questioned. "I'd really like to know, because you keep getting on my case for what seems like no reason."

"He's just trying to help." Jesse said to Axel.

"See?" Lukas pointed out.

"I'm sorry, Jesse. I'm not gonna just sit here and listen to this guy telling us what's what." Axel rudely said.

"Axel." Fred said, warningly.

"I'm just trying to get ready for tomorrow." Lukas defended.

"You're the only one wearing that stupid jacket. Don't tell us what to do." Axel continued.

"Take! THAT! BACK!" Lukas threatened.

"Can't. Wouldn't." Axel said.

"You know what? I get to wear this jacket because I know how to build. But that doesn't mean I don't know how to break things." Lukas continued.

"Your threats don't scare me, now that we know how you really are." Axel retorted.

"Hey! Break it up!" Fred said, putting himself against Axel and Lukas and holding his arms out again.

"I wasn't going to bring it up. But I can only take so much." Lukas continued, trying to struggle past Fred.

"Haven't you done enough damage for one day?" Axel said. Struggling past Fred. "Petra might be dead because of you!"

"I SAID ENOUGH!" Fred shouted. "Now. Let's just all calm down. And we'll figure it out in the morning."

"You know what? Why don't I just leave, and let you guys hash this out." Lukas suggested, walking toward the ladder.

"You can't leave. It's dangerous out there." Olivia said.

"I can take care of myself." Lukas insisted.

"You're not going anywhere." Jesse said.

"But Jesse…" Axel tried to reason.

"That's enough. We're all on the same team now, he's staying." Jesse insisted.

"Yes. Jesse is talking a lot of sense right now." Fred agreed.

They sat right back down. Axel didn't say anything more, but he did continue to glare.

"Zombie-sized chickens." Lukas decided. "That's what I'd fight."

"Why's that?" Olivia asked.

"Because I'm starving." Lukas said.

And it began to rain.

"Of course." Olivia deadpanned.

"Rain is better than monsters." Lukas reasoned. "Thanks for keeping me around, Jesse."

"Yeah." Jesse responded.

* * *

Author's Notes: Nothing much to say about this one.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	5. The Order of the Stone - 4

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

The group eventually managed to get to sleep, as the rain only lasted for about half an hour. At first light, they climbed down from their treehouse that they had built as shelter for the night. They set out to find this temple that Ivor was talking about.

Axel and Lukas looked at each other with indifference in their faces. To each other, they were still rivals. Meanwhile Fred had taken the lead and Jesse had taken the rear. Jesse caught up to Lukas.

"You okay?" He asked.

"It was a rough night." Lukas admitted.

"It happens. We were all tired and… I'm just so glad you're okay." Jesse assured.

"Thanks for being so cool about it." Lukas said.

Jesse gave Lukas a grin before continuing. He approached Olivia and was about to say something when Lukas called out.

"Hey! I think there's something over that way!"

"What is it?" Olivia asked.

"Some kind of building, I think." Lukas responded.

"Let's get a closer look." Jesse suggested.

Climbing the vines, they reached the top of the hill and took a look at what Lukas was talking about. It was an abandoned temple.

"This has to be the place!" Jesse said.

"Definitely looks like it's seen better days." Fred commented.

They jumped down over the edge and walked to the entrance.

"What is this place?" Axel asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Olivia said.

"It's the Temple of the Order of the Stone." Lukas answered.

"Lukas, are you sure?" Olivia questioned. Meanwhile, Jesse pulled out his amulet and held it up. It's pattern seemed to match with the patterns of the stained glass over the entrance.

"He's right! Look." Jesse said.

"Holy crap!" Axel exclaimed.

"Do you think they're in there?" Olivia asked.

"Of course, they're not in there." Fred retorted. "If they were in there, then this temple wouldn't look so run down."

"Okay, okay. I'm just asking." Olivia defended in response.

"Let's just all be careful." Jesse said.

"Okay."

"If you spot anything, call it out. We don't have a lot of time." Jesse instructed.

"Isn't it weird how dispensers are carved to look like spooky little faces?" Axel commented, looking at a row of dispensers.

"Oh yeah, I haven't noticed it before." Fred agreed.

"What do you dispense, little guy?" Axel asked.

"I get the feeling that we don't really want to find out." Olivia said.

Jesse stopped and held out his arm.

"Get behind me." He commanded.

He cautiously walked forward, keeping the group behind him. A rumble scared Reuben, and he ran, right on top of a pressure plate. The group following along.

A barricade slammed down behind them. This was bad.

"What was that?" Olivia exclaimed quickly.

"That's probably not a good thing." Axel commented.

Noises came from the dispensers in the wall.

"Aw, come on, dispenser faces! I thought we were friends!" Axel complained.

"RUN!" Jesse shouted as they started to shoot arrows.

They dodged and dodged and dodged before reaching a safe gap, but the dispensers continued onwards. They were stuck.

"We're trapped!" Jesse exclaimed.

"We activated the dispensers with that pressure plate. If we can figure out a way to trigger it again, I bet that'll shut 'em off." Lukas said.

Jesse saw a crafting table.

"There's a crafting table, maybe we can make something useful." Jesse suggested.

"Out of what? We don't have anything. All of our tools and materials are back home." Olivia informed.

"All right, everyone. Empty your pockets. Let's see what we've got to work with." Jesse instructed.

"I have a few sticks left over from building the shelter last night." Lukas said.

"I've got some flint, and… a piece of string." Olivia continued.

"All I have are some chicken feathers I picked up after that chicken machine exploded." Axel stated.

"And I don't have anything on me." Fred admitted.

"Let's see, I got some flint and steel. A sword. Oh, and some string from a spider that I fought in the woods earlier." Jesse said, putting the items onto the ground. The rest of the group did the same.

"String, sticks, flint and feathers." Olivia said, eyeing the items they had pulled out.

Picking them up, Jesse walked back to the crafting table. He saw that he could craft a bow and arrow or a fishing rod. Both had the ability to hit the pressure plate, but a bow and arrow was more useful for fighting, so he chose to go with the bow and arrow.

He crafted the bow first and then the arrow. Once that's done, he took aim and fired the bow at the pressure plate, hitting it and shutting the dispensers off.

"All right." Lukas exclaimed, grinning.

"The Order of the Pig's luck is changing." Axel commented. Fred snorted and tried, but failed to hide his amusement.

"What?" Axel asked.

"And I thought my old friend Romeo was bad at naming things. What kind of name is 'Order of the Pig?'" Fred questioned while giggling. He eventually lost it and burst out into full blown laughter.

Axel threw a glare at him. Fred eventually calmed down and they continued onward. They eventually entered a room full of bookshelves.

"This must be their enchantment room." Lukas stated.

"Doesn't this look like Ivor's creepy basement?" Axel asked.

The group split up, picking books off the shelves and reading through them. Jesse approached Lukas again.

"Find anything useful?" He asked.

"Not sure about 'useful' but definitely interesting. There is a lot of history in this room." Lukas responded.

Jesse approached an enchanting table and picked up the book that was there.

"The battle was fierce, but the Order of the Stone emerged triumphant, saving the land and ensuring that peace and prosperity would reign forever." Jesse read out-loud.

"Well. Not exactly forever." Lukas commented. Jesse continued reading.

"These five members, five friends. Together, would give so much to gain their rightful place, as five heroes." Jesse read on. "They would author their own end. They would slay a dragon."

"Wait a second. I haven't dived much into the legend, but I thought it was four heroes. Not five." Fred said, confused.

Olivia's eyes widened in realization.

"Ivor was a member of the Order of the Stone?" Olivia exclaimed. "The stories never mentioned him.

"This is so crazy." Lukas commented.

"This might explain why Ivor had such a grudge against Gabriel." Jesse stated.

"They lied to us. They lied to the whole world." Olivia said, dumbfounded.

"Why would they do this?" Axel asked. "Man, I can't believe you punched a member of the Order of the Stone."

"This is so crazy." Lukas repeated.

"The Order might not be what we thought they were, but Petra is still out there. Gabriel is still out there. That monster is still out there." Jesse said, changing the topic back to the current threat.

"Jesse's right. We need to focus on what we came here to do." Lukas agreed.

"Where do these stairs go?" Olivia questioned, looking at stairs.

"They go up." Jesse deadpanned.

And they climbed the stairs up to the top. They seemed to be at the top of the temple now.

"Now this is cool." Axel commented.

"Wow."

"What happened to the walls?" Axel questioned.

"More like, what happened to this whole place?" Jesse corrected.

"This must have been where they met." Olivia said.

"So where are they then?" Axel asked.

"Gabriel said that once we find the temple, the amulet would lead us to the Order of the Stone." Jesse stated.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Axel said. "Pull it out then."

And Jesse pulled out the amulet. He held it up for a few seconds, grinning. Nothing happened.

"Is something supposed to happen?" Olivia asked.

"Well, that was a let-down." Axel deadpanned.

"You're supposed to do something with it. Not just hold it out like an idiot." Fred said.

"Yes. There's got to be something we're missing. Look around and see if you can find anything." Jesse instructed. He took a look at the map that was placed on the wall of the room.

"It's a map of the entire world." Jesse commented.

"Actually, no. It isn't." Fred corrected. "The world is infinite. Well, at least until you get to the Far lands. Which are twelve million, five hundred and fifty thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one blocks away. But still, practically infinite."

"Still though, this map is way better than the one at EnderCon." Jesse said.

"True." Fred agreed.

Jesse turned around and approached a strange looking pedestal that seemed like it was designed to hold things. The banner on it had the amulet so Jesse assumed he needed to place the amulet there, which he did. Now, how to turn it on?

Before he turned it on, he walked over to Olivia.

"We're in the Temple of the Order of the Stone. The Order's actual temple." Olivia said, excited. "Who'd of thought it, huh? A bunch of small towners like us wrapped in an adventure like this.

"Yeah, pretty insane. I just hope we all come out the other side in one piece." Jesse responded.

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

Fred was listening in to the conversation that Jesse and Olivia had. Olivia seemed to be drooling over the fact that they were in the temple of some legendary heroes. He found it interesting that they seemed to continue to drool over the Order of the Stone even though he told them they were literally standing right next to a near-infinitely powerful person.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse walked over to Lukas, who was reading a book.

"Find anything interesting in that book?" Jesse asked.

"The only thing I've found so far is that the amulet was used to track the positions of the members of the order." Lukas responded.

"And does it mention how?" Jesse questioned.

"It's less technical and…well, more historical." Lukas answered.

Jesse noticed a pair of levers behind a redstone lamp. They seemed to be connected to the map, so he checked it out. He flipped a lever.

On both sides of the map, a cyan redstone lamp behind stained glass lit up.

He went over to another lever and flipped it. The cyan redstone lamp shut off and a green lamp lit up. Jesse realized that these levers might have to be flipped in a certain order.

After much trial and error, he finally found out the correct combination of lever pulling and activated the map.

Two lasers seemed to shine out of the amulet and onto the map in certain spot. One was Red and the Other was Green.

"Wow." Jesse exclaimed.

"It's absolutely incredible." Olivia commented. "How did they build this?"

They looked at the map.

"Hmm. This group just got a whole lot more interesting." Fred stated.

"What do you think the colors mean?" Jesse asked.

"The different colors represent the different members." Lukas answered.

"It's the Order! It's showing where they are right now." Jesse said.

"Wait! I know this kind of technology." Fred said, realizing something. "It only works when the people it's tracking are on the surface. It doesn't work in the Nether or the End."

"Well. Petra is relying on us." Jesse stated. "That Wither-Storm is still out there. We know that Gabriel was trying to tell us something. We've got to find the Order of the Stone."

"But, there are only two lights? There are only two members of the Order left?" Axel asked.

"Did you not just hear me?" Fred said, irritated. "I said it does not work when they are in the Nether or the End."

"Well. Gabriel said that Soren was missing." Jesse said. Had anyone been paying attention, they would have seen Fred freeze for a second.

"That leaves Magnus." Lukas finished.

"Or Ellegaard." Olivia added.

"Let's head out." Jesse said.

"I'm not going with you guys." Lukas insisted. "I have to stay here."

They turned around and looked at him.

"If I know Petra, she's probably doing everything she can to find this place." Lukas continued. "She's still out there. She has to be."

"Just, stay safe okay?" Jesse said.

"If there's even a small chance she's alive. I have to stay." Lukas said. "Go, get help. I'm going to focus on making this place safe before nightfall."

He paused.

"This temple is pretty big though. If we're gonna have a chance at fortifying it, I'm going to need some help." Lukas said. "If uh, maybe one of you guys could hang back with me."

"Sounds like Olivia will have you totally covered while me and Jesse are out finding Magnus." Axel said.

"Finding Magnus? You really think that's how it's going to go?" Olivia argued. "We need Ellegaard. She's the world's greatest engineer. She'll figure out a way to stop that thing."

"We're trying to destroy it. And when it comes to "destruction", Magnus is the master." Axel insisted. "You're a smart person, Jesse. And obviously the smart thing to do is to go and get Magnus."

"I, heh, think Axel meant 'Ellegaard' there, Jesse." Olivia said.

"Uh, no." Axel argued. "I don't think I did. Pretty sure Axel meant 'Magnus.'"

Jesse was stumped. Who should he go and get?

"Jesse. The point is, you should be going to Ellegaard's. It's the clear choice to make." Olivia continued.

Jesse finally made his decision.

"Get ready to roll, Axel. We're gonna go find Magnus." Jesse said, agreeing with Axel's choice.

"Let's do this." Axel said, nodding.

"Olivia, you stay here with Lukas and get the place ready for when Petra and Gabriel come back, okay?" Jesse instructed.

"Fine, but I'm only doing this for Petra." She sighed.

"I'll take it." Jesse stated.

"Well. I'm coming with you two." Fred said. "That way I can make sure you don't screw it up."

"What?" Jesse asked.

"You didn't do a very good job of convincing Gabriel about that monster and Magnus doesn't seem like the type to just stand around and listen to someone ramble on. So, I'm coming along to help explain when we find Magnus." Fred explained.

"Okay." Jesse agreed.

They moved to walk off but a roar in the distance pulled them out of their thoughts. They gave a look of horror at what was in the distance.

"Guys?" Lukas asked.

The thing in the distance was the Wither-Storm.

"Please hurry." Lukas begged.

* * *

Author's Notes: So that's that. Episode One done.

What I am going to do with this story is write all chapters of an episode at a time and then upload them. Expect a gap between each episode.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

Next Chapter will be the start of Assembly Required.


	6. Assembly Required - 1

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(RECAP)

Heroes can come from unlikely beginnings. And broken friendships can lead to dark rivalries. When the world is in danger, fate calls on the ordinary and the non-famous but powerful, to do extra ordinary deeds, and go on journeys they had only dreamed of.

Our heroes, thrown together by fate, must now seek help from both a near-infinitely powerful person and a legendary artisan of chaos. But the question remains…

Will it be enough to save the world?

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

The Nether, a place full of fire, lava and netherrack. Some would probably say it's the worst place that you'll ever step foot in. But for Fred, this place offers a tiny amount of relief to him. You see, while the threat of Romeo may limit him from using his powers on the surface. In the Nether and the End, he can use his powers all day without consequence.

But that's not important right now. The more important thing right now is getting to Magnus and bringing him back to help.

"Wooooo-hooooo!" Axel exclaimed as they sped through the nether on minecarts. Fred was glad to see that at least someone was having fun, unlike Jesse here in the middle cart. Jesse turned around and looked at him strangely.

"Aw, come on, Jesse. You're not even having a little fun?" Axel questioned. "I mean, I am! I mean, sure, the world's in danger, but this is our chance to be heroes!"

"He does have a point." Fred added.

"We're in The Nether!" Jesse reminded. "Watch out for monsters, okay?"

"Aw, you're always looking for the negative in things." Axel complained.

"If we don't get the Order back together, the Wither-Storm is going to eat everything." Jesse said. "That means we need to get to Magnus as soon as freaking possible!"

"You know what? You're right." Axel agreed. "We're gonna find Magnus, bring him back and he'll totally know how to blow that thing sky high!"

Fred nodded, not entirely listening. He was looking for ghasts.

"Uh, dude?" Axel called out, pointing forward.

Fred looked around. Sure enough, as soon as he turned his gaze away from the inferno in the distance, a ghast appeared. It fired a fireball.

Fred didn't react in time and it hit the minecart, sending them all flying and face planting on the ground.

"OW! OW! OW! OW!" Jesse exclaimed in pain. He got back up straight away. Fred was already floating 20 feet into the air, staring down the ghast with his Admin eyes.

"Take cover!" He ordered. Axel and Jesse did so.

"Ah, why does it hate us so much?" Axel asked.

"Over here, ugly!" Fred commanded toward the ghast as he lead the ghast to face away from the group. "You're not the only one that can fly!"

While Fred was busy with the ghasts, Jesse saw that the minecarts were about to fall in a pit of lava.

"THE MINECARTS!" He called out. He and Axel ran to grab them.

Seeing the two grab the minecarts, Fred took the chance to distract the ghast once more and kill it with his powers. He raised his arm and the ghast began to flash red before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Buh-bye!" Fred taunted as it poofed. Jesse and Axel had managed to get the minecarts back on the track.

"Time to move, buddy! Let's go!" Jesse said to Reuben as they jumped back onto the minecarts and continued off.

"Holy crap! Fred. You were awesome there." Axel complimented. "Too bad you can't use those powers on the surface. Still, a good warmup for when we get to Boom Town."

"Boom Town?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow. They passed a sign that said **'!Bo0mtoWn!'** in multi-colored letters.

"Yeah, Boom Town!" Axel confirmed as they went past the sign. They arrived at the portal. "This is it!"

Reuben gave an oink in response.

"I liked it when you went first last time." Axel complimented. "Maybe you should take this one again."

"Actually, no. I'll go first this time." Fred insisted. Making sure he was showing his human form, he stepped forward.

And he jumped into the portal.

* * *

Fred stepped out of the portal, only to fall face first onto ground. He felt Jesse, Reuben and Axel fall on top of him. Getting up, he looked up at the portal.

"Okay, who's stupid idea was it to place the exit portal FIFTY FEET OFF THE GROUND!?" Fred growled out in frustration. Looking around, he heard explosions everywhere and the place looked like a battle zone. They continued onward and placed their backs against a wall.

"Just be careful, okay?" Jesse said. "One wrong step…"

They carefully moved along the wall and peeked around the corner. Seeing no-one there. Jesse continued walking forward. This proved to be a mistake as he tripped a hidden tripwire, triggering a hidden bunch of TNT. Fred grabbed him and dove for cover as it exploded, leaving a large crater where they just were.

Getting back up, they were almost forced back down again as more TNT exploded. Approaching a building, they saw a guy holding a TNT above his head, he jumped up just as the TNT exploded. Fred grimaced as the guy disappeared into smoke, probably dead. As the smoke cleared, another figure was waiting to ambush them on the bridge above them. He threw an egg at them.

Fred, acting quick, caught the egg and threw it back at them, catching them off-guard. He dragged Jesse and Axel into cover.

"Whoa. You see that? Utter chaos, man!" Axel exclaimed.

"Why didn't we go to Redstonia!?" Fred groaned. Axel shrugged in response.

And Jesse took a walk around.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse approached a cactus. As this was a desert biome they were in, it was not surprising that they'd fine one here.

"Wow, a cactus! You don't see these back home." He commented.

"I'd take it as a souvenir, but I don't wanna stick it in my pants." Axel said.

"Yeah, probably not a good idea." Fred agreed.

Jesse took a look at the chaos going on in the distance.

"Your loot is mine, brigand!" A griefer holding a TNT called out.

"Hahahaha! You'll have to catch me first, anvil foot!" Another griefer called out. An explosion occurred, coming from their direction.

"Whoa! Um, I hope they're okay." Jesse said.

"And if they're not, at least they died doing what they loved." Axel added.

Reuben oinked in response to Axel's statement. Jesse looked at him and gave a shrug.

"How does anyone live here? Are they nuts?" Jesse questioned disbelievingly.

"They're adventurous Jesse, it's awesome!" Axel assured.

"No! It is most definitely not 'awesome'! It's utter pandemonium!" Fred retorted, agreeing with Jesse.

Axel shrugged. Jesse turned toward him.

"Well, here you have it, Jesse. Boom Town in all its glory! What do you think?" Axel asked.

"We need to keep moving." Jesse said. "They probably saw us come in here."

"Yeah, Boom Town's not exactly made for loitering." Axel agreed.

"That's an understatement." Fred deadpanned.

Walking past Axel, Jesse stopped at a banner. It seemed to have the same design as the amulet that Gabriel gave him. Pulling said amulet out, he saw that it matched. He also noticed that the green part was glowing.

"Dude, it's freakin' glowing!" Axel exclaimed.

"This glow, I think I know what it means!" Jesse said. He turned around and it glowed brighter. "And look! It glows brighter when I move it in certain directions."

"Well, green stands for Magnus, right?" Fred said, thinking.

"Yeah?" Jesse answered.

"And the green part is glowing right now. Judging by the fact that the amulet controls the map, I'm assuming it also glows when in proximity with an order member. So that means that Magnus must be close. Move it around and see if we can find out where he is." Fred instructed.

Jesse nodded.

"Eaaasy does it. Easy." Jesse said as he waved the amulet around.

"Maybe to the left? No. The right." Axel stuttered. "I mean your left. Right. I mean... You're right. About left."

"Axel. You're stressing me out with that." Jesse said. He aimed it toward a spire and the amulet glowed it's brightest.

"Whoa." Axel and Jesse exclaimed together. Reuben gave an oink of surprise.

"Ding ding ding! Looks like that spire is where we'll find magnus!" Jesse stated.

A blue haired griefer landed in-front of them.

"Hey there, new people." She greeted. "You, uh, you said you know where Magnus is?"

The griefer approached them.

"All the griefers here in Boom Town want to find Magnus, y'know." She explained.

"Just leave us alone, okay?" Jesse snapped. "It's none of your business."

"Hmm. I'm afraid to say that you're just making me wonder even more what the heck is up with that thing." The griefer said.

"What's going on?" Another griefer called out as more griefers approached them.

"Nohr found some noobs with a thingy that can find Magnus." A third griefer said.

Nohr turned around.

"Bunch of scavengers! This drop is mine!" She said to the other griefers.

"Okay, I suggest all of you back off, if you know what's good for you!" Fred warned.

Nohr ignored him and grabbed the amulet out of Jesse's hands and ran off.

"Get back here with that." Axel exclaimed. The griefers, alongside Jesse, Axel, Reuben and Fred chased Nohr.

"Oh, Mighty Magnus!" Nohr called out. "I have for you this offering—"

She couldn't finish as a griefer used a fishing pole to grab the amulet out of her hands.

"NOOOOOOO!" Nohr exclaimed. The fishing pole griefer ran off.

Nohr chased after him. Fred, Axel and Jesse hot on her tail.

Jesse reached the top of the stairs, to find the two griefers laughing together.

"Bunch'a noobs!" Nohr taunted. They ran off again.

"Hey, are they going the same way?" Axel asked, confused.

"They're working together." Jesse said.

"This is just how we do it in Boom Town!" Fishing Pole said as Jesse chased after them. They split up.

"Which one took the amulet?" Jesse asked. He looked at Nohr, then at Fishing Pole. He decided on the fishing pole griefer.

"I'll get the one with the fishing pole." Jesse instructed. "You and Axel get the little blue-haired creep!" Jesse said to Fred. He noticed his blue hair. "No offense."

"None taken!" Fred assured. They began to chase after the griefers.

Running up a flight of stairs, Jesse continued to chase after Fishing Pole as they jumped from roof to roof across multiple buildings. Fishing Pole randomly turned around.

"Think fast!" He exclaimed as he threw an egg at Jesse. Jesse dodged. "Your training is coming along nicely, noob!"

"Just give me the amulet!" Jesse ordered.

"Geez pal, no need to shout. Here-" Fishing Pole was cut off by an explosion. "Our reasonable conversatiooooon!"

"Whoa." Jesse exclaimed in response as the amulet fell into the hands of a hooded griefer.

"My turn!" Hoodie said as he ran off with the amulet. Jesse jumped and landed on top of him, knocking the amulet out of his hands.

Nohr returned and picked up the amulet again before running off. Jesse ran after her.

Fred and Axel bumped into Jesse.

"Hey! Did Nohr come this way?" Axel asked.

"Yes, and she had the amulet again!" Jesse stated. He saw Nohr running in the distance. "Stop right there!"

"How about 'No?!'" She retorted before entering a house and blocking the door with obsidian.

Axel tried to punch through the wall, to little success.

"Augh! These bricks will take forever to punch through." Axel stated.

"How about the vines?" Fred suggested.

"Well spotted." Jesse complimented, before climbing the vines.

Nohr's head came out of a hole in the wall above Jesse.

"Sorry guys, but I've been trying to find Magnus for way too long for you to stop me now!" She informed, before dropping a TNT over Jesse's head. He jumped over to the vine on the left, dodging the TNT. He continued to climb. Nohr's head appeared over the roof.

"You know what you remind me of? This song I had stuck in my head once." She said. "I just couldn't get it to go away!"

And Nohr dropped another TNT. Jesse dodged that one as well. Climbing onto the roof, he saw Nohr distracted by the amulet.

"Okay, little amulet. Show me the way." Nohr said. "Of course, not sure what I'll do when I get there, but that's future Nohr's problem."

Jesse snuck up on her and grabbed the amulet. They struggled with it.

"Give it back! This is more important than you know!" He struggled.

They fell over a TNT, which started flashing.

"Uh-oh!" Nohr said.

"Not again!" Jesse groaned. He was thrown off the roof into another building. Getting back up, he saw that the amulet was nowhere to be found.

"Ha! Nice. What did I tell you about teamwork?" He heard hoodie say.

"What? But I'm the one who said we should work together!" A female griefer argued.

"No you didn't!" Hoodie snapped.

Jesse saw that they were fighting over the amulet. Using the distraction to an advantage. He lowered his hand and quickly snatched it away.

"Got it! I actually got it!" Jesse exclaimed, proud of himself.

"Quick! Flush 'em out!" The female griefer said, throwing a TNT onto Jesse's level.

Jesse jumped over to an adjacent building just as the TNT exploded. Looking down, he saw a whole group of griefers chasing after him. He saw Axel and Fred a floor below him.

"Guys! Magnus is somewhere in that building above us! He's gotta be close!" Jesse informed.

"Then quick! Toss me the amulet!" Axel instructed. Jesse looked at him disbelievingly.

"You're surrounded by griefers and they're gonna tear you apart." Axel explained. Jesse pulled out the amulet and threw it to Axel, who caught it.

"Just don't lose it." Jesse instructed.

"Hey, don't worry about me. I got this. You and Fred keep them distracted." Axel said. Fred ran up toward's Jesse's level.

"At the top!" They heard a griefer's voice say.

"Yeah, that's where I saw 'em." Another griefer confirmed.

"Let's go." Fred said. He and Jesse continued to run, and they ran into some chicken eggs.

"I love a good table-turning. Excellent." Jesse commented. He grabbed them.

"Oh no you don't!" A female griefer exclaimed as they chased after them. "GET BACK HERE!"

Jesse turned around and threw an egg toward a griefer, knocking him and a griefer behind him off the roof. He knocked a few more griefers off the roof before reaching the top of the stairs. He and Fred happened across TNT.

"Well, hel-lo, opportunity!" Jesse said. Fred grabbed the TNT and threw it below them, blasting the rest of the griefers off the roof! Seeing that they were finally safe. They continued onward toward the spire.

Reaching the spire, they saw Reuben and Axel on the other side of a pit with dispensers firing arrows. An arrow was wedged in Axel's leg.

"Jesse! Fred! You made it." Axel exclaimed.

"You don't need to sound so surprised." Jesse said, walking across the arrow pit. "Do you have the amulet?"

Axel pulled out the amulet.

"Of course! Me and the pig, we totally rocked it." Axel responded.

"Well, I'm glad everyone's safe." Jesse said. He gave Reuben a pat.

"Good boy, Reuben." Jesse cooed affectionately. "Magnus, here we come."

The trio and Reuben climbed up toward the iron doors.

"Huh, maybe it's, I dunno, locked or something? That's a thing people do to important doors, right?" Axel shrugged.

Jesse knocked four times on the door.

"Knocking? Really?" Fred deadpanned.

But to Fred's surprise, the door opened.

"Fine. Knocking worked, for once." Axel commented.

"So, it seems, let's get in there." Jesse said as they walked in.

A trap door opened, catching all of them off guard as they fell into a trap. Jesse and Axel gave a scream as they fell.

* * *

Author's Notes: The next chapter will be Magnus and the death bowl.

Another device to stop Fred from becoming a Mary Sue: Fred can only use his powers on the surface without alerting Romeo under very special circumstances, namely when the Wither-Storm is close due to the Command Block giving off its own residue, masking Fred's residue. Using them in the Nether or The End is fine though.

Not much else to say about this one.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	7. Assembly Required - 2

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

Damn it. How did he not see that trap coming? Fred and the others landed on hard obsidian, Reuben knocking the amulet out of Jesse's hands. It rolled across a bridge covering lava and landed on the other side.

Jesse moved to retrieve it, but only walked two steps when a figure wearing green colored armor and a black eye bandana stepped in front of it.

"You are completely surrounded by hundreds of hidden death traps. One step closer…" He flipped a lever. "AND KABOOM!"

Two blocks of TNT popped up, blocking their path. The figure grabbed the amulet, he was none other than Magnus the Rogue.

"It's Magnus! We totally got caught by Magnus!" Axel exclaimed. "I think we're gonna die now."

"Did you really think you could sneak up on me?" Magnus taunted. "Ha! You're three of the worst griefers I've ever met. And a pig!? Really? Hardly stealthy."

Reuben oinked angrily.

"Oh yeah? Well 'Oink oink oink' to you, porkchop!" Magnus retorted.

"We're here to ask for your help!" Jesse explained.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, sure. So, you're not a few griefers here to catch me unawares?" Magnus said, in a non-believing tone. "Because, hehe, lemme tell ya…"

Magnus pointed to Axel.

"I mean, that guy? He's got 'griefer' written all over him." Magnus finished. He tossed the amulet from hand to hand.

"Man, you don't know how much that means to me." Axel blushed.

"Yeah, well, that's because he's your biggest fan! Look at him!" Jesse explained.

"I mean, not, like 'biggest' fan." Axel said in response.

"Riiiiight. So, tell me something, "Not Griefers." How'd you find me? Who are you working for?" Magnus demanded. "You working with someone? Or maybe you bribed another griefer?"

"Gabriel sent us on this mission." Jesse said.

Fred nodded. Jesse was doing a 'slightly' better job at convincing Magnus than he did with Gabriel. And only 'slightly'.

"Gabriel?" Magnus repeated, disbelievingly. "Ha ha! You're seriously telling me you're buddy-buddy with Gabriel. You know how often people try and tell me that one?"

Magnus stepped back toward a lever.

"This is all sounding pretty weird, dudes." Magnus said, flipping a lever. The TNT in front of them was thrown off into the lava, exploding. They ran forward, only to be blocked by a second row of TNT.

"Who are you really?" Magnus demanded again. "Why are you here? I want answers, now!"

Fred stepped up.

"Look. There's no time to explain. Some idiot by the name of Ivor stole my old friend's command block and built a mutant Wither-Storm with it. It's eating up the entire world and we need your help." Fred explained.

Magnus flipped the lever again, removing the TNT layer in-front of them. They walked carefully up this time.

"Like Fred said, there's a Wither-Storm eating up the entire world and nothing can stop it. That's why Gabriel told us to reunite the order." Jesse added. "Magnus, you've gotta come with us. You might be the only chance we have!"

Magnus kicked up a third row of TNT.

"Give me one reason why, for even a second, I should come with you." Magnus demanded a third time. "I am the ruler of this place. I keep the disorder!"

"Boom Town, this place you've built up and are known for. It's about to get destroyed." Jesse informed. "But if you come with us, we can still stop this."

Magnus turned away from them.

"All this stuff you've told me. You expect me to just take your word for it?" Magnus questioned. "Three strangers with wild stories, and nothing to show for it!"

"Magnus, every word of what I'm saying is true! You have to believe me." Jesse reasoned.

"Okay, okay, you sold me! I'm in." Magnus conceded. He removed the final row of TNT. "Oh, but we might have a little bit of a problem getting out of here."

Fred facepalmed. Of course, it wasn't that simple.

"Huh? You're Magnus. You can just walk outta here." Axel said.

"Hello?! I don't know if you've looked around this place, but it's kinda full of griefers!" Magnus explained.

"But, that's kinda awesome. Right?" Axel said, shrugging.

"No! It is not awesome." Fred snapped.

"Blue-hair there is right." Magnus confirmed. "You've heard about the whole 'Challenging the King for His Crown" thing, right? It's like their thing. So long as I'm king, I can't leave this tower."

"I know how you feel." Axel sympathized.

"No, you don't" Magnus said in response.

"You're right, I don't." Axel agreed.

"You lost me, what exactly do you mean?" Jesse inquired.

"Boom Town griefers have one goal in mind, to steal my crown! And, what can I say? I'm too good to give it up, baby." Magnus explained.

"Simply put, that's life as King of Boom Town. Not as fun as you'd think." Magnus finished.

"Finally. Someone agrees with me about how crazy this place is." Fred said in frustration.

"I mean, hey, I do get to spit on their heads occasionally, so I guess that's something." Magnus added.

"Nevermind." Fred groaned.

"But, couldn't you just let them win?" Jesse suggested.

"I've beaten them dozens of times, no one would believe it." Magnus pointed out. "But you, you're the newcomer with the golden amulet. By now there'll probably be all sorts of rumors about how awesome you are."

"If you beat me, then I'll be able to leave." Magnus said. "Can't believe I didn't think of it before."

"Yeah, but assuming I won. Wouldn't I be stuck here then?" Jesse asked.

"Exactly." Fred agreed.

"Nah, you're not as legendary as me." Magnus assured. (Fred snorted, if only Magnus knew.) "Should be easy enough to throw another fight or just give up the crown with way lover level griefers."

"The trick is, don't become a legend. But looking at you, I don't think… well, anyway." Magnus said. "Oh, this is gonna be good. I'm actually excited about this! But we gotta make sure it looks legit!"

"The Death Bowl has never seen the carnage that we're about to create." Magnus finally finished.

"Uh, what's the death bowl?" Jesse questioned.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

They found themselves in a crazy competition.

"This is the death bowl!" Magnus announced. Griefers around them cheered.

"Welllllllllcome ladies and gentlegriefers, to the Death Bowl." A guy in a suit wearing 3D glasses announced. "In one corner, we have Magnus, your king of Boom Town, prepared to defend his title and crown."

Magnus approached Jesse.

"So, tiny. Welcome to the Death Bowl. The Grief-Off to end all Grief-Offs. How do you wanna fake this?" Magnus asked. "How are we gonna fool' em? What's your, heh, grand plan? Better lay it on me quick, griefers aren't known for their patience!"

"We'll start off small, and then I'll throw some TNT at you. Just let it graze you and then we'll call it a finish, all right?" Jesse suggested.

"Okay, something about TNT. Awesome!" Magnus said.

"Were you even listening to that?" Fred asked. Magnus ignored him.

3D Glasses approached Jesse.

"And you, what name do you go by?" He asked. "I'm gonna need a name."

"They call me… The Amulet Holder!" Jesse announced.

"You heard the name, folks." 3D Glasses said. "Give a big Death Bowl welcome to the AMULET HOOOOLLLDER!"

He gestured Jesse and Magnus together.

"Then let's begin!" He announced. Magnus and Jesse gave each other a stare. "Opponents will craft their own griefing towers, which they will then use to grief each other!"

"The only rule is…"

"..that there are no rules!" A griefer shouted.

"No eye-poking!" 3D Glasses finished. "Other than that, go crazy. Seriously."

3D Glasses turned to Jesse.

"Amulet Holder! Pick your building material!" He turned to Magnus. "And Magnus, you—"

"Nah, I'm good. Brought my own supply." Magnus stated.

"Let the griefing begin!" 3D Glasses announced.

Jesse approached three chests.

"Wood." He read out-loud. "Some stone."

Reuben approached the third chest.

"Some, hmm. Pink wool?" Jesse questioned.

"Don't even think about it." Fred warned when Jesse eyed Reuben and the Pink Wool.

Jesse approached the Stone chest.

"Stone it is!" Jesse decided.

Fred breathed a sigh of relief.

Grabbing the supplies out of the chest, Jesse crafted a tower using the same design as Magnus's tower over on the other side.

"Hmm, not bad. Not bad. Guess it'll have to do." Jesse commented as he stood on his tower. He noticed Axel standing next to Magnus' tower.

"Axel, what are you doing over there on his side?!" Jesse exclaimed, scandalized.

"Yeah, thought you might bring that up." Axel explained. "It's just that Reuben and Fred wanted to take your corner, and I didn't want to crowd them or anything, so I thought I'd um… watch from over here."

Fred just shrugged.

Jesse sent a glare at Magnus.

"Take your best shot!" Magnus said.

Jesse picked up an egg and threw it toward Magnus. It missed him by two to three blocks.

"Nice aim." Fred retorted sarcastically.

"And that's how you shouldn't throw an egg." Jesse stuttered, blushing.

"Ha! You grief with me? You grief with the best!" Magnus taunted. Jesse picked up a second egg and threw it while Magnus's back was turned. It actually hit him this time, spawning a chicken and knocking him over.

"So, Amulet Holder. Taking an Amulet isn't enough? You need to take my crown as well?" Magnus asked.

"I do not discriminate in my accessory-taking. Your crown shall be mine." Jesse responded.

Magnus kicked the chicken off his tower.

"You are but a student. Prepare yourself, for I am here to give you your final lesson!" Magnus threatened, before firing TNT.

Jesse ducked, but the TNT missed his tower entirely, hitting 3D Glasses and knocking him into a pit.

"Er, that was just a warning." Magnus stammered.

"What? A warning that you need glasses?" A griefer mocked.

"It seems the student has become the master, and the Amulet Holder will win the day!" Jesse taunted.

"I don't know what that means, but I love it and want to put it on a t-shirt!" A green and blue face painted griefer agreed.

Jesse fired his TNT cannon, only for Magnus to turn around and knock it back with slime blocks, knocking Jesse off his feet.

"But, what happened to getting hit by my TNT?" Jesse questioned disbelievingly.

"Nobody messes with the BOOM MASTER!" Magnus yelled in response.

"Uh oh." Jesse said under his breath.

"So much for faking it." Jesse heard Fred say. Axel ran over to Jesse's tower.

"Jesse? Jesse, you okay?" Axel asked.

"Had enough yet?" Magnus taunted. "All righty. I think Noob Time, is over."

Jesse continued to play along.

"Luck sometimes visits the most unskilled of us, but it never lingers." Jesse stated. "Skill, Mastery, these are the things that will see you defeated!"

"Magnus, craft a cannon!" A griefer called out.

"Yeah, finish him with a cannon!" Another griefer agreed.

"If it's a cannon you want, it's a cannon you'll get!" Magnus announced.

"Yep, he's completely lost it. Dude's going for the kill! Jesse, you'd better craft the, I dunno, greatest thing of your life. Like, right now!" Axel informed.

"Well, there's still some material in the chest." Jesse said as he approached the chest again. He grabbed more stone out and built a wall in front of his platform, with a gap in between so that he can still see.

"Hey, Axel, Fred. Check it out. Ha! That should hold him." Jesse stated.

Fred just shook his head.

"Yeah, it's yeah. Um, yeah, it might do. But Jesse, look." Axel pointed toward Magnus's tower. To Jesse's horror, he had indeed built a cannon. Magnus gave a maniacal laugh.

"But you were supposed to throw the fight." Jesse complained.

Magnus flipped a lever, throwing TNT and demolishing Jesse's wall. Jesse saw TNT after TNT after TNT flying at him, demolishing his entire tower.

Reuben got an idea and raced towards Magnus' tower. Axel went to a chest and dug through it.

"You're going up against the King of the Griefers and you pick stone? Ha!" Magnus mocked hypocritically. His own tower was had stone as well.

Before he could fire another TNT, Reuben appeared beside him and distracted him.

"GET OFF! NO PIGS ALLOWED!" Magnus demanded, fighting against Reuben.

"Stuff! I got cool stuff, coming your way!" Axel said, throwing stuff at Jesse. He pulled out an arrow.

"I got you an arrow for your bow! I think it's enchanted or something." Axel threw the arrow towards Jesse, who caught it.

"A bow? In a cannon fight?" Jesse questioned, dumbfounded. "Axel! There are all sorts of clichéd lines about this!"

"Yeah, but the TNT. Inside the cannon!" Axel pointed towards Magnus' tower.

"Exactly. You can use the bow and arrow on the TNT inside Magnus' cannon." Fred added.

"TNT, plus arrow." Jesse repeated.

"Oh yeah." Axel agreed.

Magnus grabbed Reuben and placed him inside a slime launcher.

"Time to see how well you fly, pig!" Magnus threatened. He threw another lever and launched Reuben flying. Fred jumped up and caught Reuben.

"Don't worry. I got you." Fred assured him.

"Hey, Magnus!" Jesse called out, getting Magnus' attention.

"Yeah, short stuff?" Magnus taunted.

Jesse took aim.

"Flying pig jokes are totally played out." Jesse threatened.

Magnus gave another maniacal laugh and started throwing more TNT at him. Jesse narrowed his eyes, jumped up and released the arrow. It connected with the TNT, causing it to flash.

"Oh crap!" Magnus exclaimed.

His tower exploded, knocking him off. Magnus landed on solid ground, his cannon was no more. Jesse, on the other hand managed to land on a single piece of floating stone. Which technically declares him the winner.

3D Glasses climbed out of the pit and saw the outcome. He stood up and announced the winner.

"WE HAVE A WINNER! THE AMULET HOOOLLLDEEER!"

The griefers cheered out. Jesse jumped off his stone block and approached Axel and Fred. 3D Glasses approached him.

"You gonna say something there, champ?" 3D Glasses asked. "It's just the winner sometimes, I don't know. Gives a speech?"

"Whooooo likes explosions?!" Jesse called out to the griefers. They cheered again. "That's right! Yeah you do! And that's why I'm standing up here today!"

"Welp, you guys ready then?" A new griefer said, approaching Jesse with TNT.

"Oh, hohoho. Yeah! This'll be a way easier target than Magnus!" Another griefer agreed.

"Wait? What's going on?" Axel asked.

Fred suddenly paled, the reason having nothing to do with the griefer's threat.

"Well, that's not good." Jesse responded, giving a fearful look.

But the griefers never got to carry out their threat, because the Wither-Storm decided that now was the perfect moment for it to show up.

"Holy CRAP! Is that your Wither-Storm?" Magnus exclaimed in alarm.

Axel, Reuben, Fred and Jesse turned around in alarm.

There it was. The Wither-Storm in all its three headed glory. It looked down at the town hungrily.

"How are we? What are we? That's- GAGH!?" Magnus stammered.

The Wither-Storm began to suck up blocks and people.

"Oh no. Oh no." Jesse exclaimed worriedly.

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no, NO NO!" Magnus continued.

Fred flashed blue-white, revealing his Admin form and began to float 15 blocks into the air. Jesse didn't know which one Magnus was shocked more by, Fred's blue Admin form or the chaos that the Wither-Storm was creating.

"Okay, everyone! EVACUATE AND GET TO THE PORTAL NOW!" Fred ordered, using his powers to amplify his voice, but no one was listening. They continued to run around and scream. Jesse and Axel began to move, but Magnus was rooted to the spot.

"STOP EATING MY KINGDOM!" roared Magnus at the Wither-Storm.

"Magnus, come on!" Jesse grabbed Magnus' hand and pulled him away.

"YOU'LL REGRET MESSING WITH BOOM TOWN!" Magnus threatened.

"GO!" Jesse ordered.

Fred took one look at Jesse and Magnus and clapped his hands. Jesse felt like he was spinning for a moment before it stopped, leaving a nauseous feeling in his stomach. Jesse saw that he, Axel, Magnus and Reuben were back at the portal.

"Jeez, that's disorienting!" Jesse commented, feeling like he was going to throw up.

Fred teleported in behind them. He raised his arms and Jesse immediately felt weightless. He felt himself floating up to the portal, seeing Magnus, Axel and Reuben floating next to him. They felt themselves fly through the portal, and Fred flew up and followed them in.

* * *

Author's Notes: So, the gang have managed to recruit Magnus and are now heading back to the temple.

Not much else to say about this one.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, then look up another story.

More to follow.


	8. Assembly Required - 3

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

On the trip back to the temple from Boom Town, Fred explained to Magnus what he was and what that Wither-Storm was. As expected, Magnus asked immediately why Fred couldn't use his powers to destroy the Wither-Storm. Fred gave him the same explanation he gave Gabriel, namely about the Command Block's immunity to Admin powers.

They arrived at the exit portal to the temple with no mishaps, Fred making sure he was in human form before returning to the surface. With no time to waste, they ran towards the entrance of the temple.

"Okay! Just a little further!" Jesse called out when he got to the top of the vines. The rest of the group made it up and saw that the entrance to the temple was fortified.

"Wow. Someone really went bonkers with the defenses, huh?" Magnus commented. They jumped down and approached the entrance to the temple when a creeper approached them from the right.

"EVERYONE! GET DOWN!" Fred ordered as he shielded them from the creeper, only for it to be taken down by a set of arrows.

"Who goes there?" A voice commanded. It was Lukas, aiming a bow at where the creeper was just standing. "Jesse? Is that you?"

"Lukas! Hey, we're back!" Jesse greeted.

"I'm so glad you're back." Lukas said, jumping up and down. He let them in.

"And we brought Magnus!" Jesse announced, pointing him out.

"Fantastic!" Lukas responded. He opened the door. "Quick! Come on. You guys are never going to believe who showed up while you were gone.

Stepping inside, the group saw Petra, leaning against the wall.

"Petra!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" Petra greeted back, slightly less energetic than normal.

Reuben made a happy oink and ran around Petra in excitement.

"Petra! You made it!" Axel said, giving Petra a hug.

"It's good to see you too, big guy." Petra responded. She looked at Fred, confused. "Who are you, again?"

"Fred." Fred responded.

"Wait a minute, weren't you that blue powerful guy?" Petra questioned.

"Yes, I am." Fred snapped. "And that's supposed to stay secret! Jeez, announce it to the whole world, why don't you!"

"Okay, okay!" Petra said, holding out her arms to calm him down. She turned to Jesse. "And it's really good to see you, Jesse."

They hugged.

"Back there in Gabriel's bunker, it got pretty dicey." Petra informed.

"It's such a relief to see you, I'm glad you're okay." Jesse assured.

"You two pulled me and Gabriel out of the Wither-Storm's clutches and we ran and ran and ran for the temple." Petra continued. "If you hadn't saved me, well. I owe you everything. Jesse. I'm just glad Gabriel knew where to go."

"Did the Wither-Storm leave anything? Is anything left of our home?" Jesse asked.

"It's all a blur, but the Wither-Storm left almost nothing behind. Everything, everyone was just gone." Petra responded. "Gabriel was the only person beside me to get away."

Fred felt a twinge of guilt within his stomach. If he had just been faster, he could have grabbed Ivor and stopped him from creating that monster in the first place. His thoughts drifted off to Romeo. No doubt that maniac is probably sitting somewhere eating popcorn and watching the Wither-Storm eat everything.

The group reached the top of the temple.

"Wow, been a while since I've been here, whoa." Magnus commented. He saw Gabriel, who he gave a quick nod to, before turning around.

"WHAT! IS! SHE! DOING HERE?!" Magnus snarled, pulling Fred out of his thoughts. Following Magnus' gaze, he saw a female brunette wearing red and gold armor. He assumed it was Ellegaard.

Fred groaned, with the way how Magnus reacted, he was very sure that they were going to start arguing soon.

"Well, this isn't going to go well." Gabriel deadpanned. Fred nodded in agreement.

"Right, um. I forgot to mention, Olivia went on a little… expedition of her own, while you were gone." Lukas explained.

"And this 'Olivia' person, came back with her?" Magnus exclaimed, scandalized. He turned his glare toward Jesse. "Did you know about this? Did Ellegaard put you up to this?"

"And this, is a problem?" Jesse questioned.

"You bet your butt it's a problem." Magnus confirmed. "No way am I working with her. Not after, ugh."

Olivia finally noticed they were here.

"Jesse! Jesse! Look, I found Ellegaard!" She called out.

"Just hang on a sec, okay? I'll go figure out what's going on." Jesse said.

"Good, you do that." Magnus responded.

Fred signaled for Gabriel's attention.

"What's their problem?" Fred asked, whispering.

"Those two weren't on the best of terms when we broke up." Gabriel explained.

"Hmm." Fred hummed.

"So, who are you, now?" He heard Ellegaard question Jesse. "And why did you bring him with you?"

"We're reuniting the Order of the Stone." Jesse explained.

"It was kind of crazy actually, I went to Redstonia and there were all these incredible engineers and inventors." Olivia added. "It was a little intimidating, actually. But Ellegaard's made me her protégé!"

"Well, assistant for now." Ellegaard corrected. "I mean, after what happened."

"I know, I'm sorry. So sorry." Olivia apologized.

"Redstonia?" Jesse questioned.

"It's like a town devoted to nothing but engineering and invention. It's amazing." Olivia gawked. "And I was pretty out of my league."

"She might have, well, embarrassed herself a tiny bit." Ellegaard explained.

"Yeah, but after I pled my case, she agreed to take me on as her assistant and come back to help." Olivia finished. "Not bad, right?

Fred, Axel and Magnus approached Jesse, Olivia and Ellegaard.

"Oh ho-hoo-ray. It's Ellie. And here I was just starting to enjoy myself." Magnus exclaimed, voice dipping with sarcasm.

"Hello, Magnus. Your voice is exactly as pleasant as I remember." Ellegaard drawled. "Which is to say, not at all."

Magnus gave a look of mock-outrage.

"Ow. My feelings." He exclaimed dramatically. "Is that the same wit you're going to use to save the world?"

"Why? You here to tell me how to do it better?" Ellegaard retorted.

"Oh, I would never dream of doing that. Unlike you, I actually do things instead of just talking about them." Magnus bragged.

"Hey! That's Ellegaard you're talking to! Show her some respect!" Olivia demanded.

"Wow. You finally found yourself a live one." Magnus commented.

"Hey!" Olivia yelled in outrage.

"Your little devotees are usually a little more on the bookish side." Magnus continued, ignoring Olivia.

"OI! Cut it out." Fred ordered, holding out his arms. Magnus and Ellegaard turned and walked away.

"Uh, people? Can we please focus on the bigger picture?" Jesse asked. "We have a very hungry Wither-Storm in the process of turning the whole world into its dinner."

"Yeah, I'll admit. That thing looked real nasty. And I've seen some nasty stuff in my time." Magnus agreed.

"Too much for you, was it? Your usual brutish approach didn't cut it?" Ellegaard taunted.

Fred groaned, yep. They were arguing again.

"Hey! You weren't there, all right? You didn't see how this thing just tore everything up." Magnus argued.

"WOULD YOU TWO STOP FIGHTING?!" Jesse yelled, finally cutting in.

"Whoa!" Magnus exclaimed.

"Yikes!" Ellegaard winced.

"Exactly! How you two got ANYTHING done while in the Order with all that arguing is beyond me!" Fred agreed. "We need to focus on the task of destroying the Wither-Storm. Not arguing."

"I don't know if you've looked around yet, but this place isn't nearly the stronghold it used to be." Ellegaard said to Fred. "Most of our supplies are gone."

"It would take a mountain of TNT to kill that thing!" Magnus added.

"I hate to say it, but you have a point." Ellegaard agreed.

"This is amazing." Axel commented.

"I know." Olivia agreed.

"Finally, those two have learned to stop fighting for once." Fred added.

"Can we start crafting some then?" Jesse asked.

"I don't think we got that kinda time." Magnus pointed out. "But, even if we had all the TNT from miles around, I don't know if it would be enough."

"If only Soren were here, he might have something we could use." Ellegaard complained.

"Oh Ellie. Not this again!" Magnus groaned.

"Wait, Magnus!" Gabriel said. "She may have a point. Soren did have certain…. Objects. Inventions."

"You know I hate when you brag about you and Soren's little brainy club." Magnus continued

"I'm not bragging!" Ellegaard defended. "I think I've got a legitimate idea here!"

"Back up a second." Fred said. "Did you say Soren?"

"Yeah? He's the leader of the Order." Ellegaard answered, confused.

"Ginger hair? Has a huge obsession with Endermen?" Fred asked.

"Um, yeah?" Ellegaard confirmed. "Why? Did you know him."

"In fact, I did. Long ago." Fred admitted. "Before he created the Order, in fact."

"What are you talking about? What did Soren have?" Jesse butted in.

"Soren had a kind of 'Super TNT', stronger and more explosive than anything else in the world." Ellegaard explained.

"The Formidi-bomb!" Gabriel gasped.

That got Fred's interest.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard all about the 'F-Bomb' before." Magnus said, shrugging.

"F-Bomb?" Axel questioned.

"Yeah. Soren claimed that dropping the F-Bomb could destroy anything." Magnus added.

"Hmm. I am definitely interested in whatever this Formidi-bomb is. We should go get it, now." Fred stated.

"Well, there's a little problem there." Ellegaard said.

"We don't know where Soren is." Gabriel finished. "But you found Magnus and Ellegaard. Do you know where he is?"

Everyone's eyes turned to the map on the wall in-front of them.

"Our map could locate him." Ellegaard stated. "Unless he's in the Nether. Or the End. But it's worth a shot."

"He wasn't on the map." Jesse said. Ellegaard gave a shrug before they all wandered off in different directions.

Fred did seem to notice that both Petra and Gabriel seemed to rub their left arms a lot. He might have to ask about that later.

Jesse approached a lever at the back of the room and flipped it, turning the laser beam on. He walked over to the pedestal and placed the amulet on it, activating the map.

The cyan light, the red light and the green light were both pointing at the same place, indicating that Gabriel, Ellegaard and Magnus were in the temple.

"All right, there's your light, my light…" Magnus indicated.

A white light flickered on, pointing to the top of the map.

"That's new." Axel commented.

"There he is." Ellegaard said. "Soren had his fortress deep inside the mountains. After the Order broke up, that's where he went to keep doing his experiments."

"Look, he invited me there a couple of times, but it always seemed a little.." Magnus started.

"..weird, right? It always seemed a little weird." Ellegaard finished, agreeing.

"Glad we can agree on that at any rate." Magnus added.

Jesse placed his arms around Magnus and Ellegaard

"So, he'll help us. Right?" Jesse said.

A lapis blue light flickered on. It pointed at a spot between the temple and Soren's location. It seemed to be moving slowly towards Soren's light.

"Whoa." Ellegaard commented.

"It didn't do that before." Olivia added.

"Are you sure it's working?" Lukas questioned.

Jesse paled in realization.

"Oh, that's not good. That's Ivor!" He announced.

"Ivor is going to Soren's. We need to move!" Ellegaard ordered.

"It's not too far. We could probably make it on foot." Jesse suggested.

"Perfect. We can wait 'til tomorrow morning and travel with a full day's sunlight." Ellegaard said.

"Uh, and risk that thing catching up with us?" Magnus argued. "I think I've had enough Wither-Storm for one day, thank you very much."

"Right, because getting caught out there in the dark is so much better." Ellegaard retorted.

"Trust me. If you had seen this thing you wouldn't want to stick around." Magnus reasoned.

"Yeah, I don't want the Wither-Storm catching up with us. We should go now." Jesse agreed.

"Jesse here's talking a lot of sense. Let's just go with that plan." Magnus said.

"You're just saying that because it's your plan. But fine." Ellegaard conceded.

With a nod, the group got ready, before setting off.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Night had fallen by the time the group got moving. There were no monsters yet, so it seemed they are safe. For now.

"Okay everyone, let's get moving." Jesse called out.

Ellegaard approached him.

"Jesse, right?" Ellegaard greeted.

"Oh, hello." Jesse said.

"We haven't had the chance to acquaint ourselves properly." Ellegaard stated. "I hear that you and Fred over here saved Petra and Gabriel from this Wither-Storm. Sounds like you're pretty impressive people."

"I don't like to brag, but we are actually pretty tough." Jesse admitted.

"And sure of yourself. I appreciate that." Ellegaard complimented.

"In any case, I sort of wish you had taken my side earlier, but, water under the bridge and all that." Ellegaard confessed.

Fred joined the conversation they were having.

"Yeah, sorry. But I'd much prefer to fight regular mobs than to have another encounter with that monstrosity right now." Fred said.

"Slight tangent, what's the, ah, 'deal' with your friend Olivia?" Ellegaard questioned. "I appreciate her enthusiasm, but she can be a little… much sometimes. She's always very eager to jump in and help."

"Olivia's one of my best friends. She's smart and she always has a plan." Jesse defended.

"Oh, wow. Interesting. So, why didn't you listen to her plan to come and recruit ME?" Ellegaard asked. "Not to make it awkward or anything. Or to demand 'Why didn't you want to recruit me?'"

"Well. We are trying to destroy it after all. And no one knows destruction better than Magnus over here." Fred said.

"The man DOES know how to blow things up with reckless abandon, that's for sure." Ellegaard agreed. "I'll do my best to not let it hurt my feelings. Joke. That was a joke."

"If you have to explain the joke, then it's not a joke." Fred deadpanned.

Groans were heard from the trees surrounding them. Turning around, they saw mobs starting to come out.

"Yep. Exactly what I worried about. And exactly why we should have waited 'til morning!" Ellegaard angrily stated.

"At least the Wither-Storm isn't tearing us apart right now, all right?" Magnus defended.

"Well, we can hash all that out later, because we've got some monsters to fight here people!" Jesse said.

The group got to work in fighting the monsters. Jesse, Gabriel and Petra pulled out their swords and began to attack the Zombies that were approaching them. Once all the zombies were taken care off, they began to run toward the temple.

"It's gonna be light soon, we're gonna be okay!" Jesse assured the group.

"Man, I miss daytime!" Olivia groaned.

"How far is Soren's?" Axel asked.

"It has to be close, right?" Petra panted.

"Not much farther! We can make it!" Jesse reassured them.

With a huge climb. The group finally arrived at the mountain that Soren's lab was in.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that's a wrap for this chapter.

Fred knows Soren because one of Soren's books can be found inside his old house while you are exploring it in Episode Four of Season Two.

Not much else to say.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	9. Assembly Required - 4

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

The group entered the entrance hall of the lab. Olivia, Jesse and Lukas opened their mouths in amazement at the amount of work that was put in to this one room alone.

"Soren really lived down here?" Lukas questioned in amazement. "So far from… anyone."

"Enchanting, isn't it." Ellegaard deadpanned.

A coughing fit from Petra got both Jesse, Fred and Gabriel's attention. They glanced at each other, shrugging before continuing onward.

The floor in the room ahead was broken up into different segments. The pit below them appeared endless.

"Yeah, and I'm reeeally not feeling those columns." Lukas commented.

Magnus jumped on a segment.

"Aw come on! It's fine! Look!" Magnus yelled after them. Axel jumped after him, giving a shout of excitement as he jumped.

Lukas, Olivia, Ellegaard, Petra and Fred followed. Reuben stood there, shaking.

"Just, don't fall. Okay?" Jesse said to Reuben as he jumped. Reuben followed behind him. Jesse looked down.

"Oh, that is deep. That is very, very deep." He commented before continuing to jump. Jesse miscalculated the distance of a jump and slipped.

He hit ground and saw an Enderman take a block of gravel.

"Oh, man. We've got Endermen." He groaned.

Lukas fell next to him.

"I heard your voice and thought I would come down to help." He explained.

"Endermen." Lukas pointed out.

"There are so many, I didn't think they ever came in groups that big." Jesse said. "Thanks for coming back, Lukas. I mean that."

An alarmed Oink from Reuben broke up their conversation.

"Hear that? I think Reuben is trying to get our attention." Jesse pointed out. Turning around, he accidentally looked at an Enderman in the eye. It gave a shriek of rage. Jesse screamed as he tumbled back into water. Realizing that Endermen hate water, he gave a sigh of relief as he was washed down stream.

Lukas jumped into the water with him. Reuben stood at the side, horrified.

"Reuben! Jump!" Jesse commanded. Reuben hesitantly complied, jumping into the water with them.

The water eventually flowed downwards into a waterfall, plunging them into another room. Ahead, Jesse saw the rest of the group. Magnus and Ellegaard were in another argument.

"OH, BE QUIET! IT'S JUST A POINTLESS BUILDING! THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING! I MEAN, JUST LOOK AT-" Magnus yelled.

"Magnus, if an artist painted the inside of your mind, he'd end up with the most extraordinary desertscape." Ellegaard retorted. She angrily stormed off. "That's it! I'm going. Once again, it falls to me to take care of everything. I'll find this 'Super TNT' myself."

"Oh no no no! You do NOT get to be the one who walks away." Magnus responded. With a frustrated yell, he stormed off too. "That's it! I'm going. See, I'm walking away too now. 'Super TNT', here I come!"

"It's hard to pick 'glass half full' when they keep kicking the glass over." Olivia commented.

"So much for getting along." Fred added.

"Yeah, and I thought they were doing so well." Lukas finished.

"Yeah, I wouldn't go that far." Olivia said.

"Forget them, we're here now. So, let's focus on what's important" Jesse instructed.

"What are we gonna do now? Where should we go?" Olivia asked.

"Let's figure it out." Jesse stated. He looked at the corridor that Ellegaard went down, then glanced over to Magnus' corridor. Taking a glance at Petra, she seemed to be cradling her arm a lot now. Gabriel was doing the same thing.

"Petra and Gabriel don't look so good." Jesse pointed out to Fred, who was standing next to him.

"Yeah. Something is definitely up with them." Fred agreed.

Jesse approached Petra.

"Hey Petra!" He greeted.

"Hey!" She greeted back.

"You, okay?" Jesse asked.

Petra just shrugged. Jesse moved to walk down the corridor that Magnus went down when he was tapped on the shoulder by Petra.

"Petra? Are you okay?" Jesse asked.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I don't mean to worry you. I've just got something I want to discuss with you in private."

Jesse turned to Lukas, Olivia and Axel.

"Let's split up." He said. They turned towards Ellegaard's corridor. He saw Fred and Gabriel already walking inside.

Turning around, Jesse and Petra entered Magnus' corridor.

They walked for a short distance inside the corridor before Petra turned to Jesse.

"I feel bad about ditching everyone else, but I just wanted to talk to you about this alone." Petra said. "It's a little tough to talk about."

"Hey, whatever it is. I trust you. You can tell me." Jesse assured her.

"Thanks for being so understanding." Petra nodded.

They turned a corner, and Petra stopped.

"You got me away from the Wither-Storm, but I'm worried that I didn't get away soon enough." Petra admitted.

"What?" Jesse exclaimed.

Petra raised her left sleeve, to reveal a pink mark that was forming on her skin.

"It showed up not too long after you saved me." Petra confessed. Jesse remained silent, at a loss for words.

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Fred were having a similar conversation. Gabriel had just shown Fred the pink mark on his arm.

"Whoa! That is definitely a problem." Fred exclaimed.

"Tell me, Fred. Do you know what 'Wither' is?" Gabriel asked.

"It's a disease that one can be inflicted with after prolonged exposure with a Wither." Fred answered, quoting a book about diseases that he had read a few years ago while bored in self-initiated exile.

"Exactly. It's also known as 'Wither Sickness'. It is something that I have contracted before in my travels, but it always wears off." Gabriel confirmed. "It seems that Ivor's monster exudes a Wither Sickness that is decidedly more….fatal."

"Well, hiding it is not the answer. We are going to go back and inform the others." Fred said.

"No Fred. You can't tell anyone about this." Gabriel insisted.

Fred decided to keep Gabriel's secret for now, and the two continued onward.

"By the way, I'm thinking that Petra is suffering from the same thing. She was cradling her arm before." Fred said.

"Yes. I'm suspecting the same thing." Gabriel agreed.

"I wonder if she and Jesse are having a similar conversation right now." Fred added.

"Well, I hope that Jesse will keep it a secret, because otherwise it'll cause panic. And we can't afford that right now." Gabriel said.

"True." Fred agreed.

"Hey, why do you keep knowledge of your superpowers to yourself? You could become more famous than the Order of the Stone if you told everyone." Gabriel asked.

"And paint a huge target on my back for Romeo to come after me? No." Fred replied.

"Who is this 'Romeo?' anyway, and why are you so intimidated by him." Gabriel inquired

And Fred launched into his life story.

"It all started many years ago. You see, many people believe that there is nothing below the bedrock. That's false. There is a whole forgotten world down there. I used to be a part of that world."

"Uh-huh." Gabriel nodded in understanding.

"There were three of us. Me, Romeo and a third admin, named Xara. We started out as just three best friends in a cabin with no powers whatsoever. Romeo was the fighter, I was the builder and Xara was the redstone expert, similar to how you, Soren and Ellegaard are to the Order."

Fred paused to breathe.

"But Romeo came across this temple at the bottom of the ocean. Inside it was a treasure more valuable than anything else in the world. The defenses on the temple were significant. But together, the three of us emerged triumphant and found a special gauntlet. Curiosity got the better of us and we put it on. It granted us with these amazing Admin powers."

"Okay, but what happened between you three?" Gabriel eagerly asked.

"We were so naïve back then. We had no idea what we were in for. When the knowledge of our powers got out, we were rewarded with fame. Fame far beyond anything that you and your 'Order of the Stone' could ever comprehend. We were one of the most well-known figures in the whole world."

Fred paused for a moment upon hearing a sound. Thinking it was just a stray mob, Fred continued.

"We split up, creating our own towns. As our lives became busier and busier, we had begun to spend less time with each other. Nostalgia hit Romeo hard, so hard that he built his town right on top of our old cabin. Eventually he began to give me and Xara this cold attitude. I thought nothing of it at first, thinking it was just a phase he was going through. But it got worse, much worse. We began to have a lot of arguments and eventually he began to give us the silent treatment, that is when I knew something was up."

Fred sighed. It was very emotional for him to tell this story to someone else.

"But even then, the rot went deeper than we thought. I went to talk to him, to try and get the old Romeo back, but it seemed he was past the point of return. He got angry, far angrier than I had ever seen him. And then, he snapped and tried to kill me. That's when I faked my death. Had I been any slower, I would have lost my life. He then bedrocked over the world, removing Xara's powers and kidnapping her in the process. He then built this world on top of the bedrock. That, to me was a personal insult."

"Fred, I am so sorry to hear that." Gabriel sympathized.

Fred pulled out an old painting he had on him, it was a landscape portrait of himself, Romeo and Xara in Admin forms. Xara was on the left. She had messy purple hair, pink eyes, yellow-green skin and light purple colored Admin clothing.

Romeo was on the right. He had firetruck red hair and a beard of the same color. His skin was dark grey, he had glowing eyes with yellow pupils and red sclera, and his Admin clothing was black with redstone like trails. Fred was in the middle, pulling Romeo and Xara together for a group photo. (See A/N.)

"You guys look so happy together there." Gabriel commented.

"That was from a long time ago, and now for practically the next century or so, I had lived in self-exile inside this world. The only way my sanity has managed to remain intact this long has been by attending conventions and community gatherings in human form every now and again. I had to be careful so that Romeo wouldn't find out I'm still alive."

Fred gulped.

"You see, when an Admin uses their powers, they leave behind a residue, which an Admin can track. However, residue in the Nether and the End cannot be tracked, which means whenever I got bored, I could just go to the Nether and stretch my legs, use my powers to strangle a few Ghasts, take out my anger on Zombie Pigmen. Stuff like that. Which brings me to my next point."

Fred cleared his throat before explaining.

"You know how Ivor created the Wither-Storm using the command block, right?" Fred inquired.

"Yes?" Gabriel answered, raising an eyebrow.

"That used to belong to Romeo. It has a residue of it's own, which happens to be much stronger than mine. Therefore, I can use my powers in the presence of the Wither-Storm without consequence. Okay, I'm probably rambling at this point, so let's just continue onward and see where Soren or this bomb is."

Gabriel nodded.

They continued to walk in silence. After a few more corners and long corridors, they happened upon a giant library that was lit up with Glowstone blocks.

Fred was about to comment when he heard an argument coming from an adjacent room. It sounded like Jesse and… Ivor?

"The Order? Haha. Believe me, that plan will blow up in their faces in more ways than one." They heard Ivor say. "They cannot help you. But me, I choose not to."

Gabriel and Fred approached the open book case door.

"Out of my way." They heard Ivor threaten. "MOVE!"

Gabriel entered the library, drawing his sword. Fred in pursuit.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, IVOR!" Gabriel ordered.

"Gabriel? You're alive?" Ivor exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Against all your best efforts Ivor! Look at what you've done. I never dreamt that even you could be this twisted!" Gabriel accused.

"Save your posturing, Gabriel." Ivor threatened, grabbing a golden sword. "We both know your words have always been hollow. Just like the Order."

Fred grabbed a sword of his own before re-joining Jesse and Gabriel.

Gabriel and Ivor began to swing their swords at each other.

"You're not going anywhere, Ivor. At least not in one piece." Gabriel threatened.

"Your threats pass harmlessly through me." Ivor retorted.

"We're not letting him leave either." Jesse assured.

"Good." Gabriel responded.

While Ivor was distracted with Gabriel, Jesse approached him from behind and gave him a taste of his sword.

"I'm the only one who can stop the Wither-Storm." Ivor stated. "Not you! Not the Order! Don't make yourselves the villains in my story."

Fred snorted. Him? A villain? Please! Romeo could easily win that rank by a long shot.

Ivor approached Jesse and moved to attack him, Jesse thrust his sword against his. They struggled for a bit before Ivor pulled out a potion.

"This could have all been avoided..." He drank the potion. "If you want to stop me, you'll have to catch me first."

Under the potion's effects. Ivor began to race around the room at lightning speed.

"Look out Jesse! He's using a Potion of Swiftness!" Gabriel warned. He ran towards the door. "We mustn't let him escape!"

"I'm like the wind!" Ivor exclaimed as he raced around the room. Jesse ducked in time before Ivor took his head off. Ivor moved straight for Gabriel and knocked him down. Gabriel clutched his left arm. Ivor began to slash his sword in millions of directions, Gabriel dodging each one.

"Out of my way! I'll cut through you if I have to!" Ivor threatened.

Once again, he was distracted. This time, Fred jumped in and knocked him aside with his sword.

"Don't tempt your fate." Ivor warned. He ran around the room again. Jesse slashed his sword in the air and by some miracle, managed to hit Ivor.

"It didn't have to go this way, Jesse. You could've just let me go." Ivor said. He pulled out a splash potion. "Now you see me, now you—"

Ivor threw it down and disappeared.

"Just because you're invisible doesn't mean I can't smell your stench, Ivor!" Fred threatened.

Invisible Ivor pulled out splash potions of harming and threw them at Jesse, laughing as he did so. Jesse dodged all of them.

"Please Ivor. Just stand down." Gabriel pleaded.

"This one's on you, you puffed-up fool." Ivor said as he aimed a splash potion of harming at Gabriel. Fred cut in and caught the potion, before throwing it at Ivor, just as hard.

Ivor's invisibility potion wore off just as the splash potion of harming hit him. He grunted in pain.

"Ugh, There's no time... for this." Ivor panted as he got back up.

Lukas, Axel, Petra and Olivia showed up.

"Jesse! Fred! Gabriel!" Lukas called out.

"Even more of you? Will this endless parade of useless babblers never cease?" Ivor exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Olivia asked.

"We found Ivor. We stopped him." Jesse informed.

"False. You have stopped nothing." Ivor corrected. "A query... Have you ever seen the effects of a Splash Potion of Slowness?"

"What-"

He pulled out a Splash potion of slowness and threw it down, catching Fred and the others off guard.

"-are you talking about?" Jesse asked, widening his eyes in horror as he spoke in slow motion.

"You big jerk!" Axel accused in slow motion.

Fred didn't even try to move, he knew it was useless.

"Stop right there!" Gabriel commanded, in slow motion.

"Magnus and Ellegaard may think they can stop me, that they can destroy the Wither Storm..." Ivor said as he exited the room. "But they are mistaken. And it will cost them their lives!"

And the library doors snapped shut, trapping the entire group inside.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that's a wrap for Episode Two.

Even with Admin powers, Fred is still human. He can't predict and dodge everything. So that's why he was still affected by Ivor's potion.

The portrait that Fred showed Gabriel is the same portrait as the one seen in the background in Season Two, Episode Four when Xara is having a hysterical fit over her bed being missing.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

Next Chapter will be the start of Episode Three. The Last Place You Look.


	10. The Last Place You Look - 1

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(RECAP)

It is said that within every loss, every challenge, and every failure, there is a gift. When friends and revered heroes are almost lost. We find new qualities of both in an Admin. When we're given grief, we find a way to give it back. And when our band of unlikely adventurers are tasked with saving the world from the coming storm, they will bring together the bravest and the brightest to stop it.

But finding the last and most elusive member of the Order of the Stone and his legendary Formidi-bomb, would prove their most perilous mission yet. For some would rather our heroes' story end here, shutting the door on their adventure forever.

But, like all doors, when one closes, another is bound to open.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

The book-case door snapped shut in their faces. Ivor had managed to get away and now they're stuck in slow motion. Axel's foot caught on a gap between the stone bricks in the floor and he was sent tumbling down on his face just as the splash potion of slowness wore off.

"Waaaaaattch iiiiiiiiiiit, get out of the way!" Lukas shouted as they returned to normal speed.

Axel landed on his face in-front of Jesse.

"That was weird." Jesse commented.

"Definitely." Olivia agreed.

"Everythingfeelsreallyfastnow!" Lukas said extremely fast. "I said that really fast, didn't I?"

"I'm getting dizzy." Axel groaned.

Jesse turned towards the closed book-case door.

"We need to find Soren." Jesse said.

"Yeah." Lukas agreed.

Jesse turned around and saw Petra clutching her left arm. She had bags underneath her eyes now. Gabriel wasn't looking much better. Fred was standing next to them.

"I still can't figure out how Ivor made the door close." Olivia said.

"Maybe we should focus more on how it opens." Lukas added.

"That's basically what I said." Olivia responded.

"Guys." Axel butted in.

Jesse approached Petra.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Why are you asking me that?" Petra responded.

Fred facepalmed, Petra wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it.

"Just checking up on you." Jesse responded sheepishly.

"Everything's fine! All of it." Petra insisted. "Are you oka-"

She lurched into another coughing fit.

"Listen, Petra. You're not doing a very good job of hiding it." Fred said, quietly so the others wouldn't hear, Gabriel nodded in agreement. "You're definitely not okay."

"Look at this." Petra said, pointing out the pink mark on her arm. It was starting to spread. "I'm not trying to freak you guys out, but I'm a little bit freaked out right now. It's starting to feel stiff."

Gabriel just gave a wide-eyed look. He showed them his arm as well. It was starting to spread as well.

"We have to tell the others." Jesse said.

"Exactly what I tried to say to Gabriel." Fred agreed.

"This isn't a 'we' thing." Petra said.

"Yes, it is. We are all a team, and they all deserve to know." Jesse insisted.

"Maybe, look. We'll tell them. Eventually." Petra said, glancing at Gabriel. "Right?"

"When the time comes, yes. But not right now." Gabriel insisted, he looked at Fred and Jesse. "I hope you two can be discreet about it."

They glanced back at the door. Axel turned around to face the group.

"Hey guys, I have an idea." Axel announced.

"Okay?" Lukas inquired.

Axel turned back to the door.

"MAGNUS! HELP!" He bellowed.

Jesse just gave him a blank stare, shaking his head. Fred facepalmed.

"Well, all right. But I have another idea." Axel said, turning toward the door again.

"Is it yelling for Ellegaard?" Olivia assumed.

"Not… anymore." Axel admitted.

"Look, they aren't coming back." Lukas stated. "We have no idea where they are."

"We don't need them." Jesse said. "As long as we have…"

Jesse fumbled around in his pocket.

"…this!" Jesse exclaimed, holding out a flint and steel. Realizing his mistake, he made a sheepish grin.

"Flint and steel?" Olivia questioned. "I don't get it."

"It's not, that's not what I meant to pull out." Jesse said, searching around in his pocket again.

"Hold on, uh, THIS!" Jesse exclaimed, pulling the amulet out. The green, cyan, lapis blue and red lights were glowing. The green, lapis blue and red lights faded, but the cyan light remained bright.

"Their colors are fading." Gabriel commented. "They are moving away from us."

"Here, let me see it." Lukas said, grabbing the amulet. Jesse sent a glare and held on to the amulet. What was Lukas' problem?

"I have a free arm, you know. And on the end of it is a fist!" Jesse threatened.

"I, just, want, to, see it!" Lukas struggled.

"You can see it without touching." Jesse stubbornly stated.

"Not if you can't get it to work!" Lukas said.

"It's working fine." Jesse assured, giving another pull.

"Break it up!" Fred ordered.

Before Fred could separate them, the white part of the amulet glowed. Lukas let go with a yell.

"Soren!" Jesse exclaimed.

Gabriel stood up and approached the amulet.

"Soren, why indeed it is!" Gabriel said.

"Find him, Jesse. Maybe he can help us." Petra instructed.

Jesse held out the amulet and walked to random places around the room before stopping on a particular spot in the floor where the white glow brightened.

"This is the spot, it has to be." Jesse commented.

"Maybe?" Axel said, confused.

"This is definitely it." Jesse confirmed upon checking again with the amulet. "Get ready to dig, people."

"Who knows how far down that goes? We might end up digging until we hit bedrock." Lukas pointed out.

"We're digging here, with our hands if we have to." Jesse insisted.

"Yeah, okay." Lukas agreed. "I'm with you, Jesse. I just want to know what we're getting into."

"This." Axel responded, before punching out a block in the floor. "PAI-GOW!"

"Let's get to it, then." Jesse said, before continuing to dig where Axel started. Just as his hands were starting to get tired, he hit an opening. Jesse used the amulet as a light source.

"Are we cool?" Axel asked.

"It's a hole." Jesse called out.

Jesse rolled his eyes.

"I'll find out." Jesse said.

"I guess that makes sense, you dig, you get a hole." Olivia pointed out.

Jesse dropped the amulet inside the hole. It landed on solid ground, illuminating the cave.

Bats rushed in, one flying out of the hole into the room above.

"Gooooo! That would've been bad." Jesse sighed in relief. He jumped down into the now empty cave.

"Hey, guys! Get a move on!" He instructed.

Lukas jumped down, followed by Reuben, then Olivia, Fred and Petra. Axel jumped down and landed on top of Lukas. Finally, Gabriel jumped down, only to trip and fall on his knees.

"Everyone okay?" Jesse asked.

"Just slipped." Gabriel replied.

"What's that smell?" Olivia asked.

"Just breathe through your mouth." Petra responded.

"Axel already does that." Lukas complained.

"Hey!" Axel retorted.

"Let's get out of here." Jesse suggested, walking in a direction down the tunnel. The group followed him.

"Stay close, boy." Jesse said to Reuben as they neared an opening. It seemed to be a vast space filled with other outlets similar to the one that Jesse's group was standing in.

"Gah!" Lukas exclaimed.

"Whoa!" Axel gawked.

"We have to get out of here." Olivia stated.

"What?" Lukas asked, disbelievingly.

"We have to get out of here!" Olivia repeated.

"We just got here." Axel complained.

"You don't understand, this is a grinder." Olivia pointed out.

Water burst out of one of the outlets, carrying skeletons with it who got mashed up by a grinder at the very bottom of the pit.

"They're meant to kill monsters." Olivia explained. "Trouble is, they can't tell the difference between monsters and people."

"This can't be good." Jesse commented.

"But there should be a loot room down there, right?" Axel asked. "Just saying, not all bad."

Creepers appeared out of the darkness behind them.

"Creepers!" Jesse exclaimed. He, Gabriel and Petra unsheathed their swords and moved to fight them.

Jesse carefully struck down the creepers.

"DUUUUUCK!" Petra screamed. Jesse moved out of the way as a creeper exploded, leaving a hole in the tunnel they were in. Jesse pulled out the amulet and held it out.

"There he is, he's right down-"

A wave of water washed Jesse off his feet and made him drop the amulet down the hole that the creeper made. As Jesse moved to grab it from mid-air, Axel grabbed him and pulled him back.

The amulet dropped down a couple of floors, landing on the top of a tunnel further down. Jesse ran toward the tunnel opening.

"Was that—" Olivia started.

"—the amulet? Yes." Jesse deadpanned. He gave a sigh of frustration before returning to the blown-out hole.

"Wait! Are you going to jump?" Olivia asked, panicking. "You're going to jump aren't you?"

"The jumping is the easy part, it's the landing that's hard." Jesse stated, then jumped off. Fred, Gabriel and Petra followed behind him.

Petra ran ahead and threw a creeper off the bridge they were on. It blew up the side of a tunnel opening, to reveal zombies.

They approached creepers.

"This one's mine." Jesse said, running toward them and knocking a creeper into the wall, blasting a huge hole in it and revealing another room full of tunnels. Cave Spiders crawled out of the debris.

The group jumped down onto another walkway and kept going towards the direction of the amulet.

Jesse saw a zombie approaching Axel, who screamed. Jesse approached the zombie and knocked it over the edge.

"Jesse, get down!" Axel said, before punching a zombie over Jesse's head and over the edge.

"Who wants more?!" Axel asked.

"You're asking for more?" Jesse responded.

Olivia was having some trouble with a skeleton. An arrow missed her head by an inch.

"Jesse." She called out.

"Hey, ugly!" Jesse said, getting the skeleton's attention. It turned it's attention toward Jesse, firing an arrow at him which he dodged.

"Watch out!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Hey, bonehead! I'm talking to you." Olivia snapped. The skeleton turned it's attention back onto Olivia. "Anytime now, Jesse!"

Jesse stepped in and knocked the skeleton off the edge, before continuing onward.

Jesse saw Lukas knock a cave spider over the edge.

"HI-YAH!" He cried as the cave spider jumped and missed his head entirely.

More cave spiders crawled out of a gap in the wall. A stream of water from above was coming down.

"Hold on!" Jesse exclaimed before grabbing onto the edge of the tunnel they were standing on. The water washed the cave spiders off the edge.

Reuben gave an alarmed oink, being chased by zombies.

"Reuben! Wait up!" Jesse said as he followed Reuben.

Petra and Gabriel were fighting more creepers. Jesse saw a creeper creeping up behind Petra. Before it can explode, Jesse leapt in and pushed it, alongside a second flashing creeper off the edge. The second creeper landed on a tunnel, exploding.

"Jesse! Incoming!" Petra cried before knocking a creeper in Jesse's direction. Jesse jumped off as it exploded. Jesse landed on his face on top of Lukas before bouncing off him and landing on his back on hard ground.

"Oh, that hurt." He grunted, getting up.

"The amulet, it's over there!" Lukas observed. Water came splashing down, washing it toward the edge. But Reuben and Axel were in trouble.

"I've got to help them!" Jesse said, pointing toward Axel and Reuben.

"What about the amulet?" Lukas asked.

"You get it!" Jesse commanded. "I'm coming, Reuben!"

Jesse landed in front of some zombies.

"Get away from my pig!" Jesse ordered, attacking them with his sword.

"Got it!" Lukas exclaimed, holding the amulet.

"Jesse, behind you!" Axel pointed toward a creeper. Jesse knocked it over, but water knocked both himself and the creeper off the edge.

This was it! He was done for. He was about to be crushed by pistons at the bottom of the pit. Jesse caught a glimpse at the creeper that was falling beside him. Acting on auto-pilot, he grabbed it and thrusted it forward, destroying the grinder. He fell into water.

Axel, Olivia, Lukas, Gabriel, Petra, Fred and Reuben jumped in behind him, alongside some other mobs such as a spider that latched itself onto Jesse's neck. With a struggle, Jesse threw it off.

The spider got sucked in by a hole in the wall. The rest of Jesse's group got sucked in by holes in the ground, before sucking Jesse in as well.

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

Luckily, Fred didn't need to hold his breath. All benefits from being an Admin. He still felt it uncomfortable though.

Fred felt himself land on ground. He saw that Jesse, Petra, Gabriel, Olivia and Lukas had landed alongside him. But where was Axel?

"I thought water was supposed to break a fall!" Lukas complained, getting up.

"Hey guys, where's Axel?" Jesse asked.

"I could've sworn he was right behind me up there." Olivia responded.

Another wave of water and Axel landed right on top of Lukas again.

"No, no. Don't worry, I'm totally fine." Axel said, winking at Jesse.

"Why?" Lukas complained. Axel got off.

"Oh, crap! I'm sorry." Axel helped Lukas up. He turned to Jesse.

"I knew you'd come for us. I just knew it. Reuben had his doubts." Axel complimented. "I owe you!"

Fred nodded. Jesse definitely seemed very loyal to his group, which Fred was glad to see.

"And if there ever comes a time when I can pay you back for that…" Axel continued.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Jesse stated. Reuben gave a questioning oink.

"Both of you." Jesse added.

"Thanks, Jesse." Axel replied. "There's something different about you, Jesse. You're-"

Axel's attention was grabbed by the loot behind the glass in the floor.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. This is where all the loot gets sorted, right?" Axel inquired.

"That's exactly what is is." Olivia answered.

"See that? Things are starting to turn around." Axel said, shoving Jesse aside.

"Axel." Fred warned.

"It was cool what you did up there." Petra complimented. "We stick together, and we'll be fine."

"But that's the problem." Gabriel argued. "I've been in the hero business for quite some time, it has kept me in lunch money."

"But I will say, for all its perks, more often than not: Heroes eat alone." Gabriel finished.

For a moment, Fred heard Romeo speaking, not Gabriel. He always seemed to insist that losers were supposed to lose. Fred chose not to say anything about it though.

"You feeling any better?" Jesse asked.

"Not even a little bit, and now I'm wet." Petra replied. "Everyone's looking at you to lead."

She glanced at Lukas. "Well, actually. Maybe not everyone."

Lukas was looking at the amulet.

"Looks like it's still working." Lukas commented.

"Hey, thanks for grabbing that." Jesse said.

"Not a problem." Lukas replied.

The white light was glowing as bright as the cyan light now.

"Hang on a minute, he's close. Soren's close by." Lukas commented. "He's gotta be this way, look how bright it is!"

The white light flickered off. Lukas gave the amulet a shake.

A groaning noise from above got their attention.

"Sounds like the grinder is backed up." Olivia said.

"With loot?"

Oh, no. Since Jesse took out the grinder, there is nothing to kill the mobs, which means-

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" Jesse said, pushing Lukas out of the way.

A wave of water filled with mobs crashed down on top of them.

Yep. The mobs were still alive. The group had a brief fight with them, Axel having some trouble with cave spiders before they ran into the other room.

"If there's two things I hate, it's running and monsters!" Axel complained.

They approached an End portal.

"Holy crap. And End portal?" Olivia questioned.

"That's the way out." Jesse said.

"Wait, what, look." Lukas panted, pointing toward Petra and Gabriel, who were struggling. Jesse and Fred ran after them.

"Get away from them!" Jesse said to the mobs as he slashed a zombie with his sword. Fred approached a zombie, knocked it down and shoved his golden sword into it's throat.

"In your face, monsters!" Jesse exclaimed as he took down the rest of the mobs. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of this."

They helped Gabriel and Petra up and they returned to the End portal. More mobs were approaching.

"Jump!" Jesse commanded as he jumped into the end portal. Fred following right behind him.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that's a wrap for this chapter.

 **ChibotleKentucky** : Yeah, The Wither-Storm arc of the story isn't going to be affected greatly by Fred's presence. However, I've got a few surprises in store later down the road when Jesse's adventures really take off.

Not much else to say here.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	11. The Last Place You Look - 2

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse landed onto ground, Fred following him. The place they landed in was creepier than Jesse imagined. There were towers of obsidian surrounding them and the sky in the distance was nothing but purple.

"Whoa!" Jesse exclaimed.

Lukas appeared next.

"Oh, great. It just keeps getting better!" Lukas commented.

Olivia, Reuben, Petra and Gabriel appeared next to them, Axel was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Axel? He was right behind me?" Olivia questioned.

On cue, Axel appeared and landed on top of Lukas, again, knocking the amulet out of his hand.

"HA! See? I told you I'd pay you back." Axel said as Jesse picked up the amulet.

"Get off." Lukas struggled as he sat up. Immediately he began to cover his eyes.

"Oh, jeez." Lukas exclaimed. "Oh, man. Wh—I-I—Uh—"

"Are you hurt?" Jesse questioned, concerned by Lukas' reaction.

"What? No, I'm not crying, just—look!" Lukas pointed behind Jesse.

Taking a proper look around, Jesse saw that the place was filled with Endermen. So that's what Lukas was covering his eyes for.

"Hide." Jesse whispered, covering his eyes and running towards cover. The rest of the group did the same.

"So, what do we call that?" Lukas asked. "A 'herd' of Endermen? A 'flock' of Endermen? A swarm?"

"The proper collective noun for it is 'haunting' of Endermen." Fred answered.

"We might want to hold off on the grammar lessons until later." Olivia added. "Which way are we headed, Jesse?"

Jesse pulled the amulet out, the white light was glowing, but flickered off immediately.

"The amulet does not work in the End." Gabriel pointed out.

Lukas gave a sarcastic laugh.

"Great, whoo, man. So, we were trapped, and now we're lost. So, we go from, uh… a death machine, that almost drowns us, and we land here. In the End."

"At least we're alive." Jesse pointed out. "And well."

Petra covered her head in what seemed like a headache.

"Yeah." Lukas agreed.

"We just have to keep on truckin' till we get to Soren." Jesse continued.

"Face it Jesse, we might never find this guy." Lukas reasoned.

"There he is." Axel pointed towards a distant staircase which a ginger-haired figure was climbing. That must be Soren.

"Did that just happen? I can't believe that just happened." Lukas said, disbelievingly.

"Where is he going?" Jesse observed.

"Only one way to find out." Petra responded.

"We've gotta go." Jesse said quickly.

Fred, who had finally realized that they weren't on the surface anymore, and that Romeo's threat was non-existent here, decided to step up. He waved his hand and a pumpkin appeared on his head.

"I'll take the lead, grab my hand and I'll lead you over to the other side." Fred instructed.

Jesse and the others complied. After what seemed like hours, they finally managed to make it to the stairs that Soren was climbing.

"Nice one there, Fred." Petra complimented.

"Thanks." Fred replied. They passed the exit portal and began to climb the stairs, which was no easy feat. These stairs felt much more steeper than normal ones.

"I hope that someday, I'll love something as much as Soren seems to love stairs." Axel panted.

As they began to climb the second set, Jesse noticed that Petra and Gabriel were falling behind.

"Jesse, can you give me a sec?" Petra asked, catching her breath. Gabriel nodded in approval.

"Need a hand?" Jesse asked.

"No, no. We can manage, thanks." Petra responded. Jesse wasn't convinced.

"Really, I'm fine." Petra insisted. "I'm good, I'm good. We can keep moving."

They eventually made it up to the top of the stairs, which contained a ladder leading up to a trap door.

"So many stairs." Olivia complained.

Jesse saw the ladder.

"There's a ladder."

"It better not be a long one." Axel responded.

"Whatever this is... looks like that's the way in." Petra commented.

"After you, dude." Axel gestured toward the ladder.

"Here goes..." Jesse said before climbing the ladder. Reaching the top, Jesse pushed open a trap door before climbing up.

Jesse wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not. The room that he had just entered seemed to be a faithful recreation of the overworld that they had just left.

"What do you see?" Lukas asked.

"Please don't say more stairs." Gabriel pleaded.

"I think I must be… seeing things." Jesse commented. Whatever this recreation was, it was very accurate. "It's like another world up here. A brand-new, totally unspoiled world."

Lukas came through.

"Ah, so bright." He complained, shielding his eyes. Olivia followed him in.

Fred, Petra, Gabriel, Reuben and Axel finally entered. Axel took two steps forward before catching his foot on something, sending him tumbling down the hill right on top of Lukas again. That was the fourth time he has done this.

"That's my body, Axel. My broken, battered body." Lukas said, not caring anymore.

Jesse took a close look at a tree.

"Hang on a second."

He moved to touch it and found out it was made from wool.

"What in the- it's made of wool!" Jesse commented. "The tree, the grass, it's all wool."

Lukas was not pleased. "You've been telling me, we've been resting all our hopes on this guy, and the whole time he's been building some TOTALLY ARTIFICIAL HAPPYLAND?!"

"Yeah, I have to admit. Soren was always a little off, especially with his obsession with Endermen. Seems all that time spent alone in isolation has just made him even more cuckoo." Fred agreed.

"We came here for nothing." Lukas angrily shouted, throwing a wool block down. "What are we even supposed to do now?"

"What's the matter with you? Why are you acting like this?" Jesse asked.

"Just look around, Jesse! If the greatest builder of all time has spent years working on 'this', what are the chances he's even gonna have that bomb, huh?" Lukas responded, irritated. "I've had enough crazy for one day!"

"What's his problem?" Petra asked. "He seems pretty upset."

"Just give him some space." Jesse instructed. "He'll be okay."

The group wandered off in their own directions. Looking up, Jesse saw a group of redstone lamps flicker off. Intrigued, he approached them.

"Noticed it too? Huh." Fred asked, startling him.

"Yeah. What do you make of this?" Jesse asked.

"Well, there is a button slightly off center below the lamps, and I don't see Soren anywhere, so I'm guessing that must be a secret door." Fred observed.

Jesse nodded. Approaching the button, he gave it a push. Nothing happened.

"It didn't so anything." Jesse stated.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Fred retorted. "If I were you, I'd see if I can find out how to get those Redstone lamps to light up again. Seems like they have something to do with it."

"Any idea what's eating Lukas?" Jesse asked.

"Well. We did come all this way just to find this little crazy wonderland instead of a Super-TNT. It wouldn't be a surprise if people got a little annoyed at that." Fred answered. "I would suggest talking to him."

Jesse nodded. Before talking to Lukas, however, he saw a lever on a fake tree near the redstone lamps. Flipping it, he saw that 9 of the lamps in the middle lit up.

"Cool!" Jesse commented.

"Seems that was triggered by a lever, have a look and see if you can find all of them." Fred instructed.

Jesse approached Lukas.

"What do you want?" He asked, bitterly.

"Fred seems pretty worried about you there." Jesse answered.

Lukas gave a frustrated sigh. "Listen, I know I've been prickly, okay? But... Jesse, I think something's wrong. With Gabriel and Petra. You have to have noticed. The lack of energy. The labored breathing."

"What, exactly are you saying, Lukas?" Jesse asked, playing dumb.

"There's something wrong! Okay? Something… big." Lukas answered. "It's not fooling anybody. At least not me."

"Look, Lukas. They're sick." Jesse admitted.

"How long have you known?" Lukas asked.

"A while, but they asked me and Fred not to say anything!" Jesse added. "The wither infected them with something."

"So... everything I was worried about - is true!" Lukas said, going wide-eyed. "This is my fault, Jesse!"

"Gabriel and Petra's wither sickness, it's because of me." Lukas continued, sitting down.

"So that's why you've been so angry? Because you feel... guilty?" Jesse asked.

"If I hadn't choked, you and Fred might've been able to pull them out of those tractor beams sooner." Lukas stated.

"For all we know, they didn't get sick until way after that!" Jesse said, attempting to erase Lukas' guilt.

"Maybe... you're right." Lukas conceded.

"If two of our best fighters are sick – do we even stand a chance anymore?" Lukas asked, wide-eyed. "Not like we haven't dealt with some grade-A problems before..."

"It just means you've gotta step up," Jesse answered, putting his hands on his hips. "more than you have been already. Okay?"

Lukas got up.

"Okay." He nodded. "I just kinda wish they would tell everybody. It would just make things, easier."

Jesse noticed that Lukas was standing in-front of a lever.

"I, uh, kinda need to get to that lever you're blocking." Jesse informed.

Lukas moved aside.

Jesse flipped the lever. The Redstone lamps on the right side of the middle set lit up, leaving only the ones on the left dark.

Looking around, he saw the third lever next to where Petra and Gabriel were standing. Approaching them, he gave them a nod before flipping it. The rest of the redstone lamps lit up.

"Seems like you've got this figured out, Jesse." Fred commented when Jesse approached him and the button.

Trying the button again, Jesse saw that this time, the wall in-front of them lowered, to reveal a room with fountains.

"Hey, everyone! I think I found Soren's way out!" Jesse announced.

"Way to go, Jesse!" Lukas commented.

"Nice sleuthing, Jesse. Sorry we weren't more help back there." Petra complimented. "When I think back to how I ran all over EnderCon looking for Ivor."

"I'm just happy you're with us." Jesse assured, not letting Petra finish.

They entered the secret passageway.

"We'll see what we can find in the rest of the house. I just hope we don't discover Soren as he's getting ready for bed... he always wore the most - revealing bathrobes!" Gabriel commented.

The place didn't seem like it had anything of interest, until Jesse approached Olivia and a door that sounded like it contained the source of the music that Jesse could hear.

"Let's see what's going on behind this door." Jesse suggested.

Olivia nodded.

Carefully stepping into the room, Jesse was startled by a new voice talking.

"And I call that one, Symphony in E. A new composition to celebrate my newest discovery!"

"That's him!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Soren!"

"This time, I observed one place a block on top of another block. Rudimentary, yes. But a sign of undeniable intelligence!" Soren's voice continued. It was coming from a jukebox.

"What the-?" Olivia commented, talking over Soren's voice.

"It's just a recording!" Jesse added.

"After all that! He's not even HERE?!" Olivia complained. "We came all this way and for what? We're no closer to Soren than before!"

"Well, this record didn't turn on by itself..." Jesse pointed out.

"Hmm. Good point. I guess he really likes the sound of his own voice, then." Olivia agreed.

"Maybe there's something useful on this record, if I can figure out what he's talking about." Jesse added.

"I've worked up a simple set of building instructions to 'inspire' them." Soren's voice continued. "I will disguise myself and hide among them in order to observe them more closely."

"Huh. 'Hide among them?' Hide among who?" Jesse asked, confused.

"Uh, Jesse? Do you think Soren is talking about… them?"

Olivia pointed outside. There were large bunch of Endermen standing there.

"Then again, everything else about this guy has been pointing to crazy." Olivia continued.

"I guess everybody needs hobbies. Even if they are really, really, REALLY dangerous." Jesse agreed. "You think he's actually training Endermen to build stuff?"

"I think HE thinks he's training Endermen to build stuff." Olivia stated.

"Let's look around." Jesse suggested. "See what we can find out."

Olivia nodded.

Jesse approached an armor stand that had a black costume on it and an empty taller armor stand. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to resemble the Endermen outside.

"Olivia! Check it out!"

"An Enderman… suit?" Olivia asked uncertainly. "Either Soren's got a very unique fashion sense, or-"

She paused upon realization. "Wait a second…"

"Looks like a taller one was hanging there, but it's missing." Jesse observed.

"Because Soren must be wearing it!" Olivia pointed out. "THIS is the disguise he was talking about!"

"You mean-"

"In order to WALK amongst the Endermen, you have to BECOME an Enderman!" Olivia finished.

Getting an idea, Jesse walked up to the suit stand and put on the Enderman costume. The smell wasn't appealing, but it was the best idea he could come up with to get Soren's attention.

"Kinda stinky! But it fits!"

"Ugh, more than 'Kinda' stinky, I'm sorry to say." Olivia added. "It's so weird. I know it's you in there, but I still don't want to look at you."

But here was the next problem. How to get Soren's attention without gathering the attention of the other Endermen.

Digging through a chest, Jesse pulled out a crafting recipe.

"Found something." Jesse announced to Olivia.

"Whatcha got?"

"It's definitely some sort of crafting recipe." Jesse commented. It looked simple, but it wasn't a recipe he had ever seen before. "But why would someone as brilliant as Soren need a recipe for a shape that simple?"

"Because they're not FOR Soren, they're for the Endermen!" Olivia explained. "This must be what he's trying to teach them to build!"

Jesse felt so stupid right now. Of course. He had just heard five minutes ago that Soren was trying to teach Endermen to build stuff. How could he forget that?

"Okay, so. If Soren is using those blueprints to teach the Endermen to build, and there's a disguise missing from the stand…" Olivia began.

"He must be conducting his experiment right now!" Jesse finished.

"Of course! The missing disguise is the one he had to put on before going outside!"

"Which means if we want to get to Soren…we have to go out THERE to do it." Jesse groaned.

Looking back down at the crafting recipe again, Jesse saw that it required six blocks, five of which were aligned in the shape of an 'L' at the bottom left-hand corner and the sixth being in the top right-hand corner. Looking around, he saw four clay blocks on the level he was on right now.

Before proceeding with picking up the clay blocks, Jesse moved to go outside to see where he needed to put them.

"Hang on a second. Soren-in-disguise looks like any old Enderman and so will you." Olivia pointed out. "How are you going to find him? Walk up to every Enderman out there and say, 'Hey, are you Soren?' The whole point of the disguise is to AVOID that kind of attention."

"We, um, just need to get his attention without riling up the Endermen." Jesse explained.

"Try not to die, okay? I'd really hate to have to watch that, from behind this protective glass."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Jesse responded. He turned around and headed outside.

"Okay, we've just gotta get Soren's attention," Jesse told Reuben. He looked up. "and avoid attracting theirs."

An Enderman looked in their direction and approached them. Reuben took off and headed back inside. The Enderman leanded down and peered it's face into Jesse's, as though checking to make sure he was a real Enderman.

Eventually, it made a satisfied noise and stood back up, walking away. Jesse breathed a sigh of relief.

Jesse saw an Enderman holding one of the clay blocks, exactly the same as the others he found back inside.

"I need 6 blocks to finish that shape in Soren's instructions, and this guy's got the only block around." Jesse said to himself.

Taking a huge risk, he walked up to the Enderman and grabbed the block. The Enderman had a strong grip, but with a huge pull, Jesse managed to tug it free. Apparently the Enderman didn't like that, as he began to make loud vocalization and screaming sounds.

"Uh, oh." Jesse commented. He quickly walked away and headed back inside, intending to fetch the other 5 blocks needed for the crafting recipe.

"Cracked it yet?" Olivia asked.

"Not yet, but I'm getting closer." Jesse replied. He walked to the clay block sitting by the window.

"Those instructions called for clay blocks, just like this one." He said, out-loud. After grabbing all four blocks on this level, Jesse climbed the ladder near the window, looking for the last clay block. He found it on the top level.

"Looks like this is the last block in here." Jesse said as he grabbed it.

Returning outside, he saw that almost every Endermen standing around seemed to be shaking as though someone had taken a block from them. This was not good.

After looking around, Jesse saw a grid of glass and redstone lamps that seemed to resemble the grid seen on a crafting table. Satisfied, Jesse began placing blocks down in the order that the recipe said: 'L' shape in the bottom left corner with the sixth block in the top right corner.

"I just hope that Soren's watching. Where-ever he is." Jesse said as he placed blocks down.

"False evidence of Endermen intelligence: accomplished!" Jesse commented as he placed the last block down. Looking around, he saw that the Endermen were really riled up now.

"Uh, nothing to see here, guys. Just walk away." Jesse said to the Endermen as they approached him. They didn't seem to hear him. "Okay, they're not walking away. Definitely not walking away."

An 'Enderman' approached from behind him, raising its arm.

"I am sorry about this, but… it has to look real."

The 'Enderman' knocked Jesse out cold.

* * *

Author's Notes: So that just happened.

Usually I try to aim for 2500/2800-ish words per chapter, however this one is 3000 words, so it's a little bit long. I know some people write chapters longer than that, but this is my personal preference.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	12. The Last Place You Look - 3

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse awoke, and for a minute he panicked at the unfamiliar environment, but eventually the memories began to rush back into him. He was outside in the Enderman suit when he was knocked unconscious by an Enderman that somehow spoke? Man, did his face hurt right now.

"I don't think it'll bruise." A voice said, getting his attention. "Your face, I mean."

Jesse turned around and saw a ginger-haired person sitting opposite him.

"These suits were built with durability in mind."

"You must be Soren." Jesse observed.

"I am, but must I be?" Soren confirmed. "I'm not sure if I want to sometimes. Sometimes, I'd prefer to be anything but Soren. Ooh, like a donkey, for example!"

"You hit me. Hard. In the face." Jesse accused.

"You upset the Endermen. And I got you to safety." Soren explained. "By the way, as far as introductions are concerned."

Soren stood up. "This is not going very well."

"We're in danger." Jesse explained.

"Oh, what else is new?" Soren retorted. "Whatever your issue is, whatever your problem. It has occurred before and has been solved before."

Jesse highly doubted that.

"Even so, what do you need me for?" Soren asked. "I've gone out of my way to avoid these types of problems. I don't even remember what it looks like up there."

"Help me save the world." Jesse responded.

"How?"

"The Formidi-bomb." Jesse explained.

Soren remained silent. Looking around, Jesse saw that the Endermen still looked upset outside.

"There's a Wither-Storm on the loose and it's eating the world." Jesse continued.

"Ah, I see! You misspoke. You don't need me, you just need my stuff." Soren stated. "I've found that when you give people what they want, they turn on you. They become resentful. They show their true colors."

"Who turned on you?" Jesse asked.

"All of them!" Soren angrily replied. "It's why I prefer Endermen, they always do what you expect, almost to a fault. You're a stranger, and what you're asking for is too dangerous."

Jesse pulled out the amulet.

"I have the amulet." He said.

"What?"

"Gabriel gave it to me." Jesse continued.

"Gabriel?"

"Gabriel asked me to reassemble the Order of the Stone." Jesse explained.

"The Order of the Stone?! They… asked for me?" Soren continued, disbelievingly. "I've always known they needed me, but I was never sure if they wanted me."

Jesse resisted the effort to facepalm there, of course they wanted him.

"Gabriel is your friend." Jesse pointed out in response.

Soren looked doubtful.

"Hmmm, I don't know. Does he ever talk about me?"

"Uhhh, sure." Jesse responded, sheepishly.

"What kinds of things do they say?" Soren probed. "Specifically, give me an example."

"That you were missed." Jesse replied.

"Really?"

"Maybe it was more 'miss-ing.' You have to read between the lines." Jesse said, rubbing his head.

"Yes. Yes, you do." Soren agreed. "But what about you? Are you my friend?"

"Sure."

And that seemed to convince Soren that Jesse wasn't going to turn on him.

"That's the best thing I've heard in years." Soren admitted. "Admittedly, that's not a very high bar."

Soren approached Jesse.

"Don't worry, I'm going to help you, because that's what friends do." Soren assured. "Before we leave, I'm going to give my old friends a gift. The gift of song."

And that's exactly what Soren did.

* * *

 _ **Gary may seem scary, but he's a swell guy.**_

 _ **Sally, dilly-dallies. Give her credit, she tries.**_

 _ **They might look the same to the untrained eye.**_

 _ **But that's a lie, and so I say…**_

* * *

Before Soren could sing anything else, Lukas burst into the room.

"Wait, is that? Are you?" Lukas began.

Axel and Olivia entered.

"Soren." Olivia finished.

"Whoa." Axel gawked.

Lukas grabbed Jesse's arm and pulled him back.

Gabriel entered next, followed by Petra.

"You look... terrible." Soren commented on Gabriel's increasingly gaunt appearance.

"Terribly handsome?" Gabriel assumed, before lurching into a coughing-fit.

"Hello, old friend." Soren greeted.

"We've been looking for you." Gabriel explained.

And then Fred entered the room, in his Admin form.

"Hello, Soren."

Soren looked like he was going to faint. He just stared wide-eyed with his mouth wide open.

"Surprised to see me? Are you?" Fred teased.

Soren just stood there, speechless.

"Congratulations, buddy. I think you've broken him." Jesse commented.

"Fr-Fred? Is that really you?" Soren asked. "But, I thought you were dead."

"We can catch up with introductions later, because there is an Enderman behind you." Fred pointed out.

Soren turned around, to find out that indeed there was an Enderman there, inside. More Endermen appeared.

"Seems a bit odd... they've never been inside before." Soren commented.

"Look away!" Jesse ordered, but it was too late.

The Enderman gave out a screech of rage. Soren turned to Jesse.

"You've upset them! You've altered their behavior!"

"Okay, let's go." Jesse said, gesturing toward the door. The group followed.

However, things weren't looking any better outside. The Endermen were now flooding the fountain area.

"And the hits just keep on comin'." Jesse commented.

"I wasn't expecting so many houseguests, there's no way I have enough seashell soaps for all of them!" Soren exclaimed.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Lukas asked. "We need to come up with a plan. And not our usual we'll-come-up-with-a-plan-when-we-have-to-OH-WAIT-NOW-WE-HAVE-TO kind of plan."

"Forget who you're talking to?" Fred said, winking. With another wave of his hand, a pumpkin appeared on his head again.

"Cover your eyes, grab onto me and follow my lead."

The group managed to make it as far as the bridge across the lake in the wool-world before one of the Endermen from before teleported in front of them and began to attack them regardless.

"QUICK! IN THE WATER!" Jesse ordered as he broke one of the bridges supports and jumped into the water. The rest of the group following behind.

"Oh! When I constructed this place, I worried about how flammable my building material was. So, I installed a fire suppression system to prevent the whole thing from going up in flames!" Soren pointed out as they swam.

"So, there's more water?" Jesse asked.

"Much more! If we activate it, it could disperse all these Endermen while we swim to safety!"

"Can we reach the controls from here?"

"The lever, it's right up there." Soren pointed toward a ladder. Jesse moved toward it and climbed up it.

"Yeesh!" Jesse exclaimed as he saw that every Endermen in the room was in rage mode. He flipped the lever at the top of the mini-tower.

"I don't know how much water this thing is gonna kick out, so everybody-"

Jesse was unable to finish as water began to spew out rapidly. At once, all the Endermen teleported away, obviously being harmed by the water.

"It's working!" Lukas commented.

"Well done, Jesse! Now, time to swim to that trap door!" Soren instructed.

As they swam toward the trap door, the whole room became submerged in water. Holding his breath, Jesse reached the trap door when Lukas pointed something out. Both Petra and Gabriel were struggling. With Fred's help. Jesse managed to haul them to the trap door before he suffocated.

* * *

Back in Soren's palace, they flew out of the End portal onto rough cobblestone.

"We made it!" Jesse exclaimed in relief.

"'Making it' is relative." Soren corrected.

Of course, they manage to evade a haunting of Endermen, just to find themselves in another fight with regular mobs, which were flooding the room due to the grinder being destroyed by a creeper earlier on.

"Oh, come on!" Jesse groaned. Pulling out a sword, he proceeded to kill a Zombie with it.

"Not that this isn't a ton of fun, but let's grab that Formidi-Bomb and get out of here!"

"One small problem. Tiny, really. Miniscule, even." Soren informed. "I haven't actually built it yet!"

"That's a 'small problem'?!"

"You seem like a person who appreciates cool stuff that's cool for no reason."

Jesse didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"Thanks?"

"Go ahead and throw that lever behind you." Soren instructed.

Reaching around, Jesse did so.

"Hold onto your socks, cause they're about to get blown off!" Soren announced as pumpkins landed on T-shaped iron block structures, turning into Iron Golems. "Go to work, boys!"

The Zombies and Skeletons were no match for the Iron Golems. Within seconds, the Golems immediately gained the upper hand and destroyed every mob in the room.

"When those golems are done with the monsters, they won't attack us, will they?" Jesse asked nervously.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies." Soren responded.

"That, didn't actually-"

"ASK ME NO QUESTIONS!"

To Jesse's relief, the golems didn't attack the group.

"Do you guys hear that?" Axel asked randomly.

"Hear what?" Jesse probed.

"All that stuff whispering, 'Take me. Take me now.'"

They were back in the loot room that they landed in after breaking Soren's grinder.

"I think it's saying… 'Olivia should get to take more than Axel.'" Olivia taunted. "But why? 'Because she's cooler!'"

"I know this is cool, but the only things we need in here are the ingredients for the Formidi-Bomb." Jesse reminded them.

"The loot says you're wrong." Axel retorted.

"I'll just fetch the Super TNT. It's right up, there!" Soren pointed to a platform above the doorway to the room leading to the End portal. There didn't seem to be a way to get up there.

"How are you gonna get up there?" Jesse asked.

"Oh, I have my ways..." Soren cryptically replied, before using two golems as a make-shift ladder. "Oh, and feel free to help yourselves! Just make sure to keep an eye out for the gunpowder we'll need to make the Formidi-Bomb."

Jesse noticed that Fred was still in his Admin form.

"Uh, Fred. You're still in your-" Jesse began.

"-Admin form." Fred finished. "Yes. Nothing I can do about it until we fight the Wither-Storm."

With a nod, Jesse went to searching in chests for gunpowder. After searching one chest, he saw Gabriel, Petra and Lukas standing in a group. Jesse approached them.

"You three doing okay?" Jesse asked.

"It's gotten really bad." Lukas admitted. "Part of me is hoping that, when we bomb the Wither Storm, this sickness will just… dissipate."

"Sure would be nice, huh?" Petra agreed.

"I must confess, I have a similar hope." Gabriel added.

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" Lukas asked.

"I had the same thought." Jesse admitted.

"Fingers crossed, right?" Lukas said.

"Toes too."

Jesse checked out the next chest, finding more gunpowder. After doing that, he noticed a button on the wall next to him. With a shrug, he pressed it.

A door opened to reveal a long tunnel and minecarts came rolling out of it.

Jesse gave a satisfied look, this must be their way out of here.

The redstone tracks lit up, initiating they were activated.

"Cool." Jesse commented.

In the distance, Olivia pulled out a fishing rod.

"Hey, Soren?" Jesse called out.

"Jesse!" Soren answered.

"I think I've got almost enough gunpowder right now!"

"Glad to hear it! And Jesse, I am sorry for not keeping this place as organized as I should, it's very embarrassing."

He pulled out a glowing TNT.

"And this is my Super TNT." Soren said, holding it out.

"Wait, but I thought Super-TNT was the Formidi-Bomb." Olivia said, confused.

"Well, you only heard about the Formidi-Bomb from Ellegaard. She might have just gotten the names mixed up." Fred stated.

"Exactly! They're two completely different words, aren't they?" Soren added, agreeing with Fred.

"So, what is Super TNT, exactly?" Jesse asked.

"Well, it's just another one of my marvelous impossible objects." Soren bragged.

"If it's impossible, how did you make it in the first place?" Jesse asked.

"Remember, Jesse, I killed the Ender Dragon. I do impossible things every day." Soren assured.

"Do we just combine this with the gunpowder?"

"Well, the crafting recipe is quite simple really." Soren admitted. "Super TNT in the middle, and gunpowder all around."

"Got it!" Jesse said. He moved to grab the Super TNT, but Soren pulled it back.

"No! No, no, no!" Soren exclaimed. "The ingredients are highly unstable, even putting them in close proximity to each other is a risk!"

Fred groaned.

"Okay, well. We may not have the Formidi-Bomb yet, but at least we finally have the ingredients to build one. Progress!" Jesse stated calmly.

"And now that we have them, we…Ahem. We…"

Soren somehow couldn't finish his sentence.

"I literally don't remember, you're going to have to help me out a little, Jesse." Soren stated.

"We're still going to need Magnus and Ellegaard to use this thing." Jesse informed. "They must be close!"

Before Soren could reply, an Enderman appeared in the room they came out of.

"Oh, dear. I was afraid of this. With the End underwater, the Endermen will try to escape." Soren explained.

"Maybe we should leave before any more of them show up." Jesse suggested.

"Of course, of course! To the mine carts, everyone!" Soren instructed.

They ran toward the minecarts.

"I've been waiting for ages to say that. To people, I mean." Soren admitted.

The group hopped in. As they were preparing to move, Soren accidentally looked at an Enderman in the eye. Immediately, it entered rage mode as they sped off. But the doors closed before they could do anything.

After a full minute of traveling, they ran into a few stray spiders and creepers outside, knocking their minecarts over. They all seemed to be running inside the tunnel that they appeared out of.

"Ah, there you are!" A female voice greeted.

"So glad you could make it." A male voice added. It was Magnus and Ellegaard. Soren hid behind Axel.

"Could have used you earlier!" Magnus admitted. "Showing up just in time to hold up the trophy, eh?"

"I'm glad you're okay." Jesse informed them, relieved.

"This looks like 'okay' to you?!" Magnus retorted.

"I thought Ivor was coming to get you!"

"Ivor?! We haven't even seen him!" Ellegaard responded.

A creeper approached them and exploded, knocking them down.

"What's going on?" Lukas asked. The group seemed to notice that the mobs were entering the tunnel they came out of.

"You don't have to worry about the monsters, they're running away." Soren pointed out. "Worry about what they're running away from."

Because right in-front of them, in the distance, was the one and only Wither-Storm. It was much bigger than it was when it invaded Boom Town.

"I feel like that got bigger." Axel commented.

"Holy crap, it did." Fred agreed. "This isn't going to end well."

"It's Formidi-Bomb time." Jesse announced.

Ellegaard and Magnus finally noticed their ginger haired friend.

"Soren?" Ellegaard exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's him. It's you." Magnus added.

"Hello, old friends." Soren greeted.

"Aha, reunion." Gabriel stated.

The Wither-Storm gave a yell of hunger, drawing their attention to it.

"It's time to go! We only get one shot at this." Soren addressed. "Remember, once the Formidi-Bomb is crafted, it'll explode in a matter of seconds. It means whoever is doing the crafting will be in great danger."

"I was hoping, well. Perhaps we can draw straws?"

Jesse looked down at Magnus and Ellegaard.

"Don't look at me." Magnus said.

"I think I may have tweaked an ankle earlier, so.." Ellegaard admitted. Jesse, seeing that they weren't going to do it, got an idea.

"This is my chance to step up." Jesse informed.

"Perhaps…" Soren agreed.

Jesse closed his eyes and gave a sigh before turning around.

"I'm going to set off the Formidi-Bomb." He said, stepping up.

"That's what I was hoping for." Soren said in response as he gave the Super TNT to Jesse. "The rest of us will build distractions in it's path. Hopefully it will buy you some time."

Fred looked outraged at the fact that the none of the Order stood up.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves! You're meant to be the Order of the Stone! Greatest band of heroes ever assembled, for goodness sake!" He said, angrily. Magnus and Ellegaard lowered their heads in shame. Ellegaard stepped forward, getting an idea.

"Jesse, take my armor. It will help." Ellegaard offered.

Magnus stepped forward.

"Nah, you can take mine. It's gotten me out of a-lotta jams." Magnus stated.

"I insist." Ellegaard insisted.

"I double insist." Magnus double insisted.

"I triple insist." Ellegaard triple insisted.

"I… insist four times." Magnus stammered.

"QUADRUPLE!" Ellegaard snapped.

"Know-it-all!" Magnus insulted.

"I've never found that insulting." Ellegaard taunted.

"I bet you don't know what the fifth one is, though." Magnus mocked.

"Quintuple... alternatively pentuple." Ellegaard answered correctly.

"Up to you, Jesse... real armor... or nerd armor." Magnus finished.

Jesse honestly did not know which one to choose. They both seemed to have their ins and outs. Magnus' armor was probably best suited to explosives, but Ellegaard's armor looked more effective against blunt force attacks, such as Wither-Storm tentacles.

Finally making his choice, he approached Ellegaard.

"Jesse, you deserve this. What you're doing means WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Ellegaard screamed.

"WHAT?!"

The Wither-Storm was right on top of them now.

After putting on Ellegaard's armor, they set off to work.

"Jesse, you're going to have to set down a crafting table out there and make that Formidi-bomb!" Soren instructed. "Everyone else, grab a buddy and split up! We need to keep that Wither-Storm on track, so build, build, build! Jesse! Don't forget, Super TNT in the middle and gunpowder all around!"

Nodding his understanding, Jesse approached the underside of the Wither-Storm.

"I hope this works!" Jesse said, putting down a crafting table.

He saw Fred build a construction from a clap of his hands, only for the Wither-Storm to devour it a second later. He then started helping build more stuff. It seems Fred was using his Admin Powers to make it harder for the Wither-Storm to devour them, which means more time focused on that instead of Jesse. Jesse was glad that Fred happened to be at Endercon that night.

Focusing on the task at hand, he placed the Super TNT in the middle slot and started placing gunpower on every slot around it.

Before he could place the final gunpowder, the Wither-Storm lowed it's tractor beam into Jesse and began to suck him up.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NOT YET!" He exclaimed. Swimming through the tractor beam, he managed to recover all pieces of gunpowder and the Super TNT.

"Please don't blow up."

Jesse saw a tentacle aiming straight for Fred, Magnus and Ellegaard.

"LOOK OUT!"

It smacked into them. Fred teleported away using his Admin powers while Magnus was protected by his armor. Unfortunately for Ellegaard, she didn't have any of the two advantages and was slammed into a tree.

"NO! ELLEGAARD!" Jesse cried out in horror, but there was no time to dwell on that now. He focused once-more back onto the crafting table below him. No more distractions.

Placing the Super TNT in the middle and the Gunpowder around, he successfully created the Formidi-Bomb. Knowing that it only had seconds before it blew up, he turned toward the Wither-Storm head, which was really close now.

"Open up and say 'AH!" He commanded, throwing the Formidi-Bomb toward the head.

He immediately found himself weightless and he felt himself fly out of the Wither-Storm's tractor beam. He saw Fred holding out his hand. He was obviously pulling Jesse away.

"YEAH!" Jesse cried out. When he had finally touched ground after floating down, courtesy of Fred. The Formidi-Bomb exploded.

* * *

Author's Notes: The next chapter is going to be a short one, I know. But this chapter has already gone on long enough.

I know I've already said this. But If you're here to see major story changes, I suggest waiting around for the Portal Hallway, or the Admin story arc. I've got some surprises in store for them.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	13. The Last Place You Look - 4

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

It's over.

It's finally over.

The Wither-Storm is dead.

When he saw Jesse up there, throwing the Formidi-Bomb into the Wither-Storm's mouth, he immediately used his powers to pull him out of the blast radius so that he wouldn't go down with it.

Once the bomb exploded, the Wither-Storm immediately fell out of the sky, landing on the ground with a huge tremor. Trees around them were on fire, but it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered now was that they were finally free of the monstrosity that threatened their existence.

Looking behind him, he saw Jesse start to regain consciousness. He was over there and helping him up so fast that you wouldn't have even had time to blink.

"Is that it? Is it over?" Axel asked.

"Appears so." Fred responded. He gave Jesse a light tap on the back. "Congratulations, buddy."

"I can't believe it's…actually dead!" Olivia exclaimed, disbelievingly.

"You did it, Jesse! You actually did it!" Lukas appraised.

"Ha ha! Handled like a champ!" Magnus commented.

"I know it wasn't easy, but.." Lukas continued.

"I couldn't have done this without you guys, any of it." Jesse stated.

"Oh, believe me. We're well aware." Olivia responded. "Thanks for saying it, though."

Reuben happily ran up to Jesse and gave a happy oink.

"Thanks, buddy." Jesse said in response, patting his head.

Fred looked around. For some reason, he didn't see Soren or Ellegaard. Olivia seemed to notice as well.

"Hey, not to put a damper on the party, but. Anyone seen Soren or Ellegaard?" She asked.

"Oh, no." Jesse said, fearfully. The tone of his voice got Fred's attention.

Fred saw what Jesse was worried about. Soren was cradling Ellegaard in the near distance. She didn't look too good. He followed Jesse over.

"You fought valiantly, my friend." Soren appraised, a somber expression on his face.

"You and I… both know… my fight… is over." Ellegaard struggled. Fred knew straight away that she didn't have long left.

"Stuff and nonsense, stuff and nonsense." Soren responded. "Save your strength, Ellegaard. We'll take care of this. We'll take care of you."

Ellegaard noticed Fred and Jesse leaning over her.

"Jesse." She greeted, weakly.

"Ellegaard."

"My armor… really suits you… Jesse. I want you to keep it, okay?" Ellegaard instructed, wincing in pain at every breath she took. "It's… certainly not going to be… much use to me now."

"Don't say such things!" Soren snapped, looking fearful.

"Jesse knows… I'm right." Ellegaard stated in response. She was looking more weaker by the second.

"Thank you, Ellegaard. For everything." Jesse acknowledged.

"I'm just glad I… got the chance to go on… once more adventure." Ellegaard added. "Sorry that I… have to take off… a little early."

She turned to Soren.

"Well, Soren. At least I… finally got to be a real hero… right?"

Fred did a double-take at that. What did she mean by 'real hero'?

Soren closed his eyes and nodded slightly.

A bunch of groaning noises got their attention. It was a massive group of people. Fred immediately recognized some of them as people he saw getting sucked up by the tractor beam back at Endercon and Boom Town, which meant one thing. They were still alive.

"All those people, they're alive! The Wither-Storm didn't kill them!" Jesse commented.

"Jesse…Fred… those people… you have to help them… All of them." Ellegaard instructed. "Make sure they get out. Don't leave anybody behind. Promise me."

Jesse gave a nod.

"Of course, we'll save them, every one of them." Jesse assured. He grabbed Ellegaard's hand. "We're the good guys, right? That's what we do."

Ellegaard gave a weak nod and took one final breath before her eyes closed for the very last time and her hand went limb.

Magnus' eyes went as wide as saucers.

And as definite proof that Ellegaard was gone, she poofed into smoke. Jesse breathed a sigh before standing up.

"C'mon, Reuben. We've got a job to do." Jesse said, determined. He turned to Lukas, Fred and the others.

"You guys help the survivors." He instructed. "I need to make sure we find the people who might be trapped."

Nodding in understanding, Fred approached the group of citizens that were gathering around nearby.

"Okay, people. Listen up!" Fred called out, getting their attention. "You guys have just been through a terrible experience. However, it's all over now. Our friends are here to get you guys to safety."

The crowd started murmuring.

"What happened?"

"Where are we?"

"Who am I?"

Fred gave a guilty look upon hearing those words. It seemed the Wither-Storm had given all of them severe amnesia.

"Everyone, please." Fred said, getting their attention again. "Now, I understand that many of you may not have any memories of who you are or how you got here. But rest assured that the nightmare is over, and I will promise this. You guys will get your memories back, in time."

"Guys! Over heee-" Jesse's voice suddenly screamed out, pleading for help. Acting on auto-pilot, Fred sprinted toward the Wither-Storm remains, locating Jesse and finding out that he was getting sucked in by something.

Without looking, Fred immediately jumped in and grabbed Jesse's arms, tugging him free.

"Don't worry, Jesse. I got you."

After tugging Jesse free, Fred looked ahead to investigate what was going on. What he saw almost made him go as white as the moon. It was the Command Block, as undamaged and pulsing as ever.

"Fred? What's going on?" asked Jesse.

"I'm afraid to say it, but it seems like it might not be as over as I thought." Fred hesitantly admitted. He couldn't believe it. After all that, the Formidi-Bomb didn't even work?

His fears were justified when the Command Block sunk back inside, and the Wither-Storm woke up. It gave a deafening roar, one out of pure rage.

"Romeo? Why did you have to lose that stupid thing!" Fred growled out as the Wither-Storm began to rise once more. He just stood there, shocked. If the Formidi-Bomb couldn't destroy it, what can? Was all hope lost?

And that wasn't even the worst part. As the sea of tentacles took it's flight in the sky again. Fred saw that it wasn't just one Wither-Storm any more.

There were three.

It struck him like a ton of bricks.

Ellegaard had died in vain.

Fred stood there, shocked and unmoving. He only turned around when Jesse called after him.

"C'mon, we've gotta get out of here!" Jesse exclaimed as he took off, Fred still standing there. "Fred, let's go!"

"I'm….. I'm so sorry, Jesse!"

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay, yes. I get it. It's short. Can you stop bugging me about it now?

And that's a wrap for Episode Three.

Nothing else to say.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up something else.

Next Chapter will be the start of Episode Four. A Block and a Hard Place.


	14. A Block and a Hard Place - 1

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(RECAP)

Everything in the universe starts out as just a block. What comes of those blocks, is up to those who wield them. And in every block, there lies the potential to create…

Or destroy.

Our friends have traveled far and wide, in search of the Order of the Stone. And a way to stop the Wither-Storm for good. But even well-laid plans can go awry.

The strong can grow weak, and beloved heroes can fall. And though some glimmer of hope may remain, the threat to this world; to it's very existence… is far from over.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Pandemonium.

Utter pandemonium.

And yet Fred continued to stand there, not moving an inch.

"I'm….. I'm so sorry, Jesse!" Fred stammered.

"What? What do you mean?" Jesse asked.

"What do I mean? WHAT DO I MEAN? The damn Wither-Storm isn't dead. The Formidi-Bomb didn't work. Ellegaard died for nothing!"

"And you're not going to be any better off just standing there!" Jesse shouted back.

"Jesse! Jesse, where are you?!" Axel's voice was heard calling out.

Jesse quickly grabbed Fred's hand and pulled him away.

"Say something, Jesse!"

"We're coming!" Jesse answered.

"There you are! Are you two okay?" Axel asked as Jesse and Fred arrived.

"Could be worse!" Fred admitted.

A loud roar from the middle Wither-Storm got their attention. As they looked up, the Wither-Storm grew two more heads, much to Jesse's horror.

Looking around, Jesse saw that the two smaller Wither-Storms had also grown more heads, equaling up to a total of nine tractor beams to look out for. Yep, this was extremely bad.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Jesse said.

"This way!" Axel lead the way.

Looking behind him, Jesse saw that the Wither-Storms were slowly following them as they ran away. They found the rest of the group hiding behind a piece of land sticking out of the ground.

"Jesse! Fred! You made it." Olivia exclaimed as they took cover.

But before another word could be uttered, a tractor beam from the main Wither-Storm tore their hiding place apart, forcing them to move.

Endermen teleported in-front of Jesse, startling him. They seemed to be running toward the Wither-Storms, which was odd.

"Those Endermen are running the wrong way! They'll be killed!" Soren panicked.

"Soren?" Lukas tried to get his attention.

"I can't stand by and watch!" Soren continued. "I'd be condemning them to death!"

Jesse was frustrated. Why was Soren considering his Endermen more important than his life?

"Stop staring and get a move on!" He ordered.

"I can't just abandon them. Not after a lifetime of study!"

"Your head's gonna be abandoning your body if you don't TURN AROUND AND RUN!" Jesse snapped.

A flaming Wither-Skull struck the tree they were standing under, setting it alight. Soren finally turned around and began to run.

In the distance, Jesse saw horses run past them, but there were more concerning matters. Axel was trying to haul Petra and Gabriel by himself and wasn't having much luck with it so far.

"Jesse! They're falling behind!" Lukas pointed out.

"Axel! You gotta move faster!"

"They're too sick. This is the best I can do!" Axel explained.

"They're not going to be able to outrun it! Not on foot!" Lukas observed. "We've got to find a way to move faster! Or we're all gonna be caught in the tractor beam!"

Olivia and Fred returned to help.

"We just need to get them moving faster." Jesse said.

More horses raced past them.

"That's it. Horses." Fred realized.

"Everybody, get on!" Jesse instructed.

Jesse approached a horse, which was moving around erratically.

"Slow down, horse!"

He managed to get it to calm down and he climbed on.

"Hey, what about us?" Petra asked. Gabriel was kneeling opposite her.

Lukas approached, on his own horse.

"Come on, Jesse. We got this! We'll take the reins, and they can just hang on."

"I've got Petra!" Jesse stated.

"Then I'll take Gabriel." Lukas agreed.

Jesse saw that the others were on their horses ahead. Good.

"Hold on, this might be a bumpy ride!" Jesse warned as he helped Petra on his horse. Once she was secure, they began to move.

The horses weren't moving as fast as they expected, but they were maintaining an acceptable distance from the Wither-Storm.

"Come on, horses!" Lukas grumbled, trying to get them to move faster.

Risking a look behind him, Jesse saw that the Wither-Storms were white hot on their trail.

"Whatever you do, don't look back." Jesse warned. Axel gave a cry of fear.

"I looked!" He admitted.

"Everyone, follow me!" Lukas instructed as he and Gabriel moved to the front of the group. Fred was riding along next to him.

Up ahead, there were mobs that were running in the same direction they were going. Pulling out his sword, he approached and attacked a spider-jockey.

"Woo-hoo! Hahaha! This is awesome!" Magnus exclaimed.

Jesse dodged an exploding creeper.

"Axel, stop backseat-steering!" Olivia complained.

"I can't help it! I'm getting horse-sick!" Axel responded.

Jesse took out a few more mobs, before noticing that the Wither-Storms were starting to gain on them. Can't these horses just go a little faster?

"It's gaining on us!" Lukas observed.

"No offense, but you could use a little practice." Petra informed.

"First time on a horse, here!" Jesse defended.

A tractor beam moved in-front of them, swooping up a few grass blocks and an unfortunate zombie.

"Watch it!" Petra exclaimed.

Jesse used the horse to jump over the gap, Petra almost slipping off.

"You trying to knock me off this thing, Jesse?" She grumbled.

"Sorry." Jesse apologized.

The Wither-Storms were continuing to gain on them. Jesse continued to dodge tractor beams while killing mobs that strayed next to him using his sword.

"I'd turn around to see if it's gaining, but it's all I can do to hold on!" Petra said.

The Wither-Storm was dangerously close now, tentacles caught up with them and started to attack them, Jesse steering his horse around and dodging the tentacles.

A flaming Wither-Skull blew a crater in-front of them, Jesse jumping over it and Petra almost falling off again.

Jesse saw a bridge crossing over a river ahead. He moved to point it out, but it seems the Wither-Storm saw it first.

"There, we need to ride over that-"

A Wither-Skull blew it up.

"-bridge." Jesse deadpanned.

What came next was something that nobody expected. An Enderman pulled took a piece out of a tentacle. The Wither-Storms gave a cry of pain and began to flail their tentacles around erratically.

"The Endermen! They're slowing it down!" Soren commented.

"Am I seeing 'Endermen' attack a Wither-Storm?" Jesse asked, disbelief within his voice.

"Endermen move blocks, it's what they do!"

"I'll make short work of this." Fred said. With a clap of his hands, a new bridge blinked into existence, replacing the destroyed old one.

"Let's go!" Jesse said, riding across the new bridge.

More good news, it seems the Wither-Storm has lost interest in them, focusing on the Endermen that are crawling over it like ants. The group used this distraction to get away.

"YEEHAW! WHOO!" Axel bellowed.

"Augh, Axel. You're screaming in my ear." Olivia snapped.

"Sorry."

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

That.

Was.

Close.

For a moment, Fred was scared that they weren't going to get away from the Wither-Storm, but then the Endermen showed up. Maybe they are useful after all.

After they got away, night had already fallen, so they took shelter in the nearest cave they could find, on a hill.

"We made it. We actually freaking made it." Jesse panted, relieved.

"Guys, could I all grab your attention? There is something that I would like to say, to make sure that you are all on the same page." Fred said, getting their attention.

And Fred launched right into his life story, about how there was a world beneath the bedrock, and the friendship between himself, Romeo and a third admin called Xara. The same story he told Gabriel back in Soren's fortress.

Then, he launched into details about the Command Block. He said that Romeo was the original creator of the Command Block, and that he had lost the thing a few months afterward. Fred could have sworn that he saw Soren go pale at that statement. He finished off by calling it 'an accident waiting to happen', using Ellegaard's death as an example.

"Oh, man. Ellie. For a second, I almost managed to forget." Magnus sadly stated after Fred finished.

"I just can't believe she's gone. Doesn't feel real." Olivia added.

"How!? How could this have happened!?" Soren said, disbelievingly. "To lose not just a friend, but a member of the Order of the Stone!?"

"All I know is, she'd want us to keep fighting, no matter what." Jesse assured.

"In fact, she'd tell us that we had to!" Olivia added.

"Ha ha! You're right. She would." Magnus agreed.

"GRAAH! BEING EMOTIONAL IS GETTING US NOWHERE!" Soren snapped. "What I want to know is, what happened out there today? Why is that thing still alive?!"

Soren approached Jesse with a glare.

"My instructions were simple! You were the one in the middle of everything, what went wrong?!"

"You tell me!" Jesse retorted.

"Excuse me?"

"Well you're the one who thought we could destroy the command block with a big old bomb!" Jesse stated.

"So, the Command Block is still out there!?" Soren asked.

"Is the sky blue?! YES!" Fred stepped in. "Of course it would still be out there if the Wither-Storm is still alive!"

"Oh, great!" Soren huffed. "And now to make matter's worse; we've gone from one Wither-Storm, to THREE! Our plan was a total failure! I should've cast the foul thing into the abyss!"

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" Fred asked.

"I-Uh-Nothing. Forget I said anything." Soren stammered.

Fred gave him a suspicious look.

"Look, our plan didn't work, so we obviously need a new one. The question is: what, do, we do?" Jesse asked.

"Oh, why are you asking me?" Soren angrily snapped. "Am I expected to know every last thing in the universe? I need a moment to think."

And Soren walked off.

"Oh boy, someone isn't in a good mood." Fred commented.

"Oh, you have NO idea." Magnus agreed.

Fred saw Lukas facing away from the group and saw a familiar jacket.

"Wait, that jacket. I recognize it." Fred stated.

"Lukas always wears that jacket." Jesse said.

"No, no, not that. There were other people wearing that very same jacket when I was coming to pull Jesse away from the Command Block." Fred explained, pointing his Admin form's hand at Lukas' jacket.

Lukas' eyes widened in realization.

"Fred, if what you said is true?" Lukas started. "I mean, do you think? I thought for sure they were gone but…"

"Lukas, your friends could still be out there!" Jesse finished.

"I know! Which means, I've gotta go after them!"

Lukas turned around.

"They might need me, Jesse!"

Petra began to stumble on her feet.

"Whoa, I suddenly feel really dizzy." She said.

Axel helped her down.

"Easy, easy. I gotcha."

Jesse and Fred approached Petra.

"Petra, how are you doing? You look terrible, Petra. Your skin is, like, almost grey." Jesse commented.

"Hey, way to not sugarcoat it." She replied. "I feel even worse than I look."

"Man, if it wasn't for Ivor, she wouldn't even be like this." Axel said.

"No kidding." Olivia agreed.

"That's… not exactly true." Petra corrected. "Ivor built the wither, sure. But he couldn't have done it without that skull I gave him. If I had just taken a second to think about it, but all I cared about was getting that stupid diamond."

"That explains what you guys were doing in the basement back at Endercon to begin with. He scammed you and you were trying to get him back for it." Fred said, understanding.

"Exactly." Petra confirmed.

"But still, it isn't your fault. It's Ivor's! He probably promised a diamond, so you wouldn't get cold feet about it." Fred continued. "Besides, if you did get cold feet, knowing him. He would've probably would have just made a trade with another person for a Wither-Skull."

"Still, I'm gonna do everything I can to make this right." Petra said, determined.

"Petra, I know this isn't easy to hear, but you're too sick to be going anywhere." Olivia reasoned.

"I'm not that sick!"

"Maybe you should rest in this cave for a while. I mean, it's safe, defensible…" Axel suggested.

"If I say I'm fine, then I'm-"

She launched into a coughing fit.

"-fine!"

"If you try to keep going, I'm afraid you're not gonna make it." Olivia stated.

"No. No way, I'm not a quitter." Petra said, disgusted by the mere fact of quitting.

"We're not saying you are." Olivia assured.

"You staying here is the right move." Jesse stated. "You'll never get better if we keep pushing you."

"But I want to be there for you guys!" Petra complained.

"I know you do, and you will." Jesse said.

"Maybe you're right." Petra conceded.

"It's right call, Jesse." Olivia agreed.

"I hope so." Jesse responded, shrugging.

Fred saw Lukas digging in a chest nearby.

"Gravel? No. Dirt? Don't think so…" He said, closing the chest and walking off. Jesse and Fred followed.

"Lukas, what are you doing?" Jesse asked.

"I told you, I'm going after my friends. I thought the other Ocelots were dead, but if they're not, I need to go find them." Lukas stated. "Look, I am grateful to you guys for bringing me this far, but I can't leave them alone out there. Not with three Wither-Storms raging."

"But, we already know that the Wither-Storms don't kill people when they suck them up. My idea is that you help them by helping us defeat those monstrosities." Fred said.

"Well, look. You, Fred and me. We've made a pretty good team so far. I'd even call us friends. So I hope you'll understand why I need to go help my OLD friends." Lukas stubbornly continued.

"Sorry, Lukas, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you there." Fred said, blocking the entranceway. "We already lost a member of our team already, we're not losing any more people."

"I guess you're right." Lukas conceded. "Okay, I'll stay. I just, really hope they're all right."

"They'll be fine." Fred assured.

Jesse turned around to head inside while Fred went outside to speak to Soren.

"Soren, look…" Fred started.

"I said I needed some space, Fred." Soren responded coldly.

"Actually, you didn't say that. You said you needed time to think." Fred corrected. "Thought of anything, yet?"

"Not really, I'll let you know if I do." Soren said.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse approached Gabriel and Magnus.

"Jesse, hello." Gabriel greeted, weakly. "Just making the rounds?"

"You feeling any better, Gabriel?" Jesse asked.

"Better is... relative. The battle with the Wither-Storm sapped the last of my strength, considerable though it was." Gabriel admitted.

"You need to rest." Magnus insisted.

"You're right. I do." Gabriel agreed.

"Look, Jesse, wherever you guys go next, give him some time to get his strength back." Magnus said.

"The problem is, we don't have time." Jesse stated.

"Jesse's right." Gabriel said. "In fact, it might be best if my journey ends here."

He looked around.

"This cave is safe, easy to defend. It's relatively comfortable, I might even find a shred of peace."

"If that's what you feel is best, then I support it." Jesse assured. "You've been through too much as it is."

"Thank you, Jesse." Gabriel responded. "I'm just sorry that I can't be there for you."

"Me too."

"Nothing had to turn out like this." Gabriel continued. "If the Order had just been different, if we'd made smarter choices; Ivor wouldn't have turned into a maniac, and... well, maybe Ellegaard would still be alive."

"Come on, let's not talk about the old days." Magnus said.

"But how can we not?" Gabriel asked. "So many lives turn asunder, a world ripped to pieces."

"We've all made mistakes, including Ivor. Right?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow.

Gabriel and Magnus looked at each other, uncertain.

"Well, nothing's quite that simple." Gabriel stated. "But, I appreciate you saying that. All this talk of the past has me exhausted."

"You need to rest." Magnus repeated.

"Well he be okay?" Jesse asked Magnus.

"I dunno. Just get back out there and kick some butt. For the both of us." Magnus responded.

Jesse nodded.

Reuben approached Petra.

"Sorry Reuben, I don't really feel like company." Petra said. That seemed to be the wrong thing to say, for Reuben gave a sad oink and ran off outside. Jesse noticed this.

"Reuben! Not again!" Jesse groaned. He walked outside.

Soren and Fred were nowhere to be seen.

"Reuben!" Jesse called again. He saw Reuben sitting by the edge, watching the Wither-Storm in the distance. Was it just him or has that thing gotten slightly closer? Jesse approached Reuben.

"Don't run off on me like that, okay?" Jesse reprimanded. Reuben gave an understanding nod and an oink. "I don't want to lose you, you understand? Yeah, I know you've run off before, but things are different now. We've lost too many people already."

Jesse and Reuben stared off into the distance, watching the storm rage on.

"The world needs us, Reuben. So much of it has already been reduced to bedrock, and it's up to us to save the rest of it." Jesse said. "Well, maybe that is a lot of pressure for just a person and a pig, but we have to find a way."

"That's what I said, isn't it?" A voice in the distance said, grabbing Jesse's attention. It sounded a lot like… Ivor?

"Just as you 'helped' us once before?" Soren's voice answered.

"This isn't about the past! It's about the future!" Ivor continued.

"There are three of those things now." Soren said, as though Ivor was a three-year-old child.

"You say that like it's my fault!" Ivor responded.

"Oh, I dunno. Maybe because it 'is' your fault." Fred's voice snapped.

"Exactly."

"Oh, take responsibility, for once, Soren!" Ivor grumbled.

"I did that by locking the command block away!" Soren responded.

"So only you could use it." Ivor added.

"Wait, what? You're the one who stole it off Romeo?" Fred asked. "You do realize that he's not going to be happy if he ever finds that out."

"Who's 'Romeo'?" Ivor asked.

"Never you mind." Fred snapped.

"Do you still not realize how dangerous it is!?" Soren asked.

"Exactly. The power that thing contains has always been nothing but an accident waiting to happen." Fred agreed.

"Oh, the bitter irony. 'Soren the Architect' and-" Ivor mocked.

"We do not need lectures from you." Soren snapped.

Jesse was interested now and decided to go and see what this was about.

"That's debatable!" Ivor responded.

"Maybe you should leave, Ivor." Soren suggested.

Jesse climbed the ladder.

"Soren, you need to listen to me!" Ivor said as Jesse arrived.

"Oh, what good has ever come of that?" Soren retorted.

Jesse decided to enter the argument.

"What you doing here, Ivor?" He asked, approaching them. "Come to lock me in another room?"

"I came to offer my help." Ivor said.

"Bah! He's been following us!" Soren explained.

"It's not like that! You need to hear me out!"

Ivor turned away.

"What you don't understand is, you are all in very grave danger." Ivor explained.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. Of course, we're in danger!" Fred retorted.

"No, I mean specifically this group!" Ivor continued. "The Wither-Storm isn't acting randomly, it's following Gabriel!"

"Gabriel?"

"You see, I may have programmed it to… follow his amulet." Ivor admitted.

"You mean the Order's amulet?!" Soren corrected.

"Yes, Soren. That amulet!" Ivor confirmed.

"That explains why the Wither-Storm's been following us!" Jesse stated, relieved that he finally got an answer for once.

"But... Gabriel wasn't even with you until it attacked Boomtown." Ivor said, confused.

"I have the amulet, Ivor! I have all along!" Jesse answered, pulling out the amulet. All sides but red were glowing brightly.

"What? I…I didn't know."

"Ivor, you fool. You've created a monster that's following Jesse! And it's only getting stronger!" Soren accused.

"You don't think I realize that? Nothing can stop those things! Nothing even hurts them!" Ivor stated.

"You sure about that Ivor? Because a few hours ago, I saw an Enderman pull off a piece of it's tentacle." Fred informed.

"Wait, what?" Ivor asked.

"Fred's right!" Soren exclaimed in realization. "The Wither's gaze passed over them, and they went wild."

"Soren, do you think Endermen could actually destroy one of those things?" Jesse inquired.

"Well, it's not beyond imagination. If there were enough of them working together…" Soren thought out-loud. "It's a promising concept, at least in theory, if I'm seeing all the pieces correctly."

"Could you coordinate the Endermen somehow? Make them attack all at once?"

"If I know my Endermen, all we'd need to do is get them into the storm's vicinity." Soren stated. "In fact, there's probably more than enough of them still in my fortress… an unintended side effect of you flooding the End!"

"This is just like the old days, Soren. You and your crazy ideas-" Ivor started.

"HUSH, IVOR! FOR ONCE!" Soren angrily snapped. "The question is, how to bring the storms and the Endermen together? Endermen aren't pets, they don't follow orders. At least not from mere mortals."

"Isn't it obvious? The fortress is the key! If we can't bring the Endermen to the Wither-Storms, we bring the Wither-Storms to the Endermen!" Jesse planned.

Fred cleared his throat, getting their attention.

"What about the Command Block, though? I don't think an Enderman is going to be able to touch that." Fred asked.

"Exactly." Ivor agreed.

"Oh, yes. It's clear now that no weapon can destroy it, not even a Formidi-Bomb." Soren admitted.

"Actually, I may have a solution to that." Ivor said, rubbing his beard.

"You mean to tell me that this thing is so powerful, Admin powers can't even touch it, yet you've been able to destroy it this this entire time and YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!?" Fred yelled, scandalized.

Ivor ignored Fred.

"You see, when I first took possession of the Command Block-" Ivor started.

"You mean 'stole it'!?" Soren corrected.

"-yes, well. I created a failsafe." Ivor finished. "A backup plan, for just in case."

"Well, I'd say 'Just in case' is here!" Soren said.

"Are you saying you know how to destroy the Command Block?" Jesse asked.

"I'm saying there might be a way." Ivor responded.

"What 'way'?" Soren asked.

"An enchanting book, one that contains the power of the Command Block itself." Ivor explained. "Use it to enchant a weapon, and you'll be able to smash the Command block to bits. Forever."

"Yes, yes, that's it! It could very well solve all our problems!" Soren agreed.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get that book!" Jesse said, moving toward the ladder.

"Just one problem, it's at my secret lab, which is sort of far away." Ivor confessed.

"How far could it possibly be?" Jesse asked.

"Let's just say it's the farthest place a person can travel before being utterly-" Ivor began, but was interrupted by a huge roar coming from the Wither-Storm, which seemed to be extremely close.

* * *

Author's Notes: I'm sorry, but this chapter has gone on long enough as it is.

I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter, but this story is now rated T due to Ellegaard's death.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

More to follow.


	15. A Block and a Hard Place - 2

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Sure enough, the Wither-Storm was once again right on top of them.

"I can't believe it found us so quickly!" Petra said, worried.

"We're not safe anywhere, are we?" Lukas added.

"Well, we can't stand around and wait for it." Olivia said.

"So, what do we do?!" Axel asked.

Jesse stepped forward.

"Guys, there's a reason it's been following us. Ivor says that it's because of the amulet that Gabriel-"

"IVOR! IT IS YOU!" Magnus interrupted, approaching Ivor with a hard glare on his face.

"Good to see you too, Magnus." Ivor greeted.

"Anyway, Ivor's figured out the Wither-Storms are drawn to the amulet, so we're gonna lure them back to Soren's fortress and destroy the Command block with an Enchanted Super Weapon." Jesse said in one breath.

"You figured all that out just now?" Olivia asked, surprised.

"The point is, we need to get moving. We aren't safe. Not as long as we have that amulet." Ivor stated.

Axel approached Jesse and grabbed the amulet.

"I'll take it." He said.

"You can't!" Olivia pleaded.

"I can, and I have to." Axel insisted.

"Axel, are you sure?" Jesse asked. He didn't want to see Axel get hurt because of his decision.

"Of course not."

"But you'll have three Wither-Storms chasing you wherever you go!" Olivia reasoned.

"If things get too intense, I'll duck into the Nether or something." Axel suggested. "I'm tired of always being the selfish one. You just go make that super weapon, I'll meet you back at Soren's fortress."

"Well, I'm going with Jesse." Fred said. "Axel seems like he's got this handled."

Axel beamed at that compliment.

"Me too." Olivia said. "What about Gabriel and Petra though?"

"The rest of you, go. I'll stay here with Gabriel and Petra." Magnus said.

"Are you certain?" Soren asked.

"Yeah! For old time's sake. Besides, I'm not going anywhere with _**Ivor**_." Magnus responded, slurring his speech at 'Ivor'. Ivor returned a glare.

"My friends are still out there somewhere." Lukas reminded.

"Then you must do this, for them." Soren responded.

"Never thought I'd be saying this, but Ivor, lead the way." Jesse said.

Once they got the horses ready, Axel approached Jesse again.

"Hey Jesse, let's try our handshake again, just once for the road."

"The Griefer Grab? You got it." Jesse said. The two did their handshake again, getting it right this time. Magnus nodded in approval.

"'Griefer Grab?'" Fred asked. "Well, at least it's better than 'Order of the Pig!'"

Magnus burst into laughter.

Jesse mounted his horse.

"I'll see you at Soren's, all right?"

"Not if I see you first." Axel said, waving goodbye.

And they set off.

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

Fred honestly did not believe a road trip could get much more boring than this. They had been traveling for a few hours now, and yet they still haven't arrived at their destination. Where were they even going anyway?

As minutes started to drone out into hours. Fred was starting to get frustrated.

"Can we go any faster?" Jesse complained, just as frustrated as Fred was.

"Not unless you have a minecart." Ivor responded.

A day had passed since they started traveling, and frankly, this was starting to get ridiculous. They had travelled well over 50,000 blocks already, and their destination was still nowhere in sight.

Ivor had said that it was the farthest place a person could travel which meant that-

Realization hit Fred faster than you could blink. They were travelling to the Far Lands. Fred groaned inwardly. The Far Lands are twelve million, five hundred and fifty thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one blocks away from the center of the world, which means they were going to be here for a while.

A while is a huge understatement in this case, they could be traveling for weeks on end. Was Ivor this paranoid? That he had to build his secret lab so far away?

After two weeks of travelling, Fred checked his little location marker again. They were at 6 million blocks away, so they were half-way now. Just because he was an Admin doesn't mean that he can't fall asleep from boredom.

"Are we there yet?" Jesse randomly asked.

"Not much further now." Ivor responded.

Jesse and Fred both knew that was a total lie, they weren't even close.

At 9 million blocks, they had travelled through a total of more than 50 different biomes, Fred was about to just clap his hands and blip them all to the far lands, but then Romeo came to his mind, and he decided to resist the urge.

One day, Ivor decided to fall asleep on top of Soren, just for Soren to elbow him awake. Jesse and Fred got a good laugh out of that.

And then, deciding to ease up the boredom a bit, Fred pulled out a jukebox and decided to play some musical records. Needless to say, it made some of the remainder of the trip a little bit less daunting.

And finally, they hit twelve million, five hundred and fifty thousand, five hundred blocks. The biome at this point was a swamp.

"Freakin' finally." Fred groaned. "I've just checked, we are at twelve million, five hundred and fifty thousand and five hundred blocks from the center of the world. Our destination is close."

"I feel like we've been riding forever." Lukas added.

Meanwhile, Soren did a double take at Fred's information of their coordinates.

"I am telling you, we CANNOT go to the Far Lands!" Soren insisted. "They're not just the end of our world, but the limits of our comprehension."

"Oh, please. The Far Lands are a happy accident. Nature's way of keeping life interesting." Ivor defended.

"No, no, no. They are perilous and unpredictable." Soren disagreed. "Perlin noise, floating points. These are not matters to be toyed with."

"Hold on, back up. What exactly are the Far Lands?" Jesse asked.

"I'm not an expert in this topic, however, I do know that the shape of natural land is dictated by a technology we call 'Perlin noise'. It's how the shape of hills and mountains are determined." Fred explained.

"Okay." Jesse said, catching on.

"However, Perlin Noise can only generate so much land naturally. At twelve million, five hundred and fifty thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one blocks away from the center of the world, Perlin Noise breaks down entirely, which means that-"

"-to put it simply, at that very spot, logic gives way to chaos. Thus, creating the Far Lands" Soren finished, interrupting Fred. "They're a dangerous place to visit, and a ridiculous place to construct a laboratory."

"Just wait until you see it." Ivor chuckled.

"Do those guys never stop arguing?" Olivia asked, annoyed.

"Honestly, I couldn't give a damn about that right now." Fred answered.

"Yeah, I'm starving." Lukas added.

"We all are." Olivia agreed. "Maybe we should turn back?"

"No way. I did not come this far, just to give up this close to the finish line!" Fred snapped.

"Also, we are in a swamp. They are really dangerous." Ivor added. "You never know what might be lurking around."

A loud grumbling sound was heard.

"What was that?" Fred asked, drawing the golden sword he stole from Soren's armory.

"My stomach." Soren answered.

"Guys, we can't turn back now. Not after coming so far." Jesse insisted.

"I just said that." Fred deadpanned.

"Fine. But I'm taking a break." Olivia said, climbing off her horse.

"So am I." Soren agreed, climbing off his.

"We mustn't linger long. Like Fred said, the Far Lands are just beyond this swamp." Ivor said.

"So, this could be our last chance to find food?" Soren asked.

"Yup." Fred answered.

Fred and Jesse were the only ones who were left standing, the others were simply too hungry.

Going deeper into the swamp, Jesse and Fred found total of four potatoes.

"One potato, Two potato, Three potato, Four." Jesse chanted as he picked up the last potato he could find.

The two found themselves approaching a witch's hut.

"A witch's hut!" Ivor said, appeared behind them, startling Jesse. "We should steer clear of it, nothing good ever happens when witches are involved."

Jesse spotted a cake.

"Look, a cake! That's enough to feed everyone." Jesse observed.

"It isn't worth it, Jesse, Witches hate trespassers." Ivor reasoned. "Besides... there are plenty of potatoes around."

"True." Fred agreed.

A witch walked past them, behind a distant tree.

"Is that a witch?" Jesse asked.

"Jesse, we shouldn't be here." Ivor warned. "Witches are very strong, and they know these swamps far better than I."

"Let's get out of here." Jesse suggested.

"Good idea."

The trio ran back to the others.

"Guys!"

"Jesse! Did you find any food?" Olivia asked.

"Actually yeah, some potatoes, but it'll have to wait!" Jesse responded. "There's a witch nearby, we saw her creeping through the swamp, and-"

A splash potion landed right next to them.

"She's here!" Soren exclaimed in alarm.

Sure enough, the witch was standing behind then. She gave a laugh.

"Oh no you don't." Olivia threatened.

"Watch out for her potions!" Jesse said.

Jesse pulled out his sword and started fighting the witch. After a struggle, he managed to kill it.

"See ya later, ya nasty old thing." Jesse taunted as the witch poofed into white smoke.

But the danger wasn't over just yet. Skeletons had showed up.

They fired arrows, which scared away the horses. And worst of all, another witch.

"Witches and skeletons? That's a really bad combination!" Lukas commented.

"You're right." Soren agreed. "Her potions, combined with her arrows…"

"The Far Lands are just past the swamp!" Jesse said.

"But they've seen us! They'll just follow us!" Olivia argued.

"The rest of you, go! I'll hold them off!" Ivor ordered, leaning against a tree.

"What!? Ivor, no!" Soren tried to argue.

"There's no time to argue." Ivor insisted. "Just head for the corner of the glitch wall!"

"The what-wall?" Jesse asked. Ivor ignored him.

"Hey you, witch! You're not the only one who can throw a potion!" Ivor threatened, pulling out a potion of his own and throwing it at a skeleton, killing it.

"Come on!" Jesse said, gesturing them to follow him.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

They ran towards the end of the swamp and towards another biome. After deeming it safe, Jesse stopped running.

"Guys, I think we lost them for..."

Jesse's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"Wow."

Lukas stepped next to Jesse

"I see your 'wow' and raise you a 'whuuuuuuu'." He said, just as amazed as Jesse is.

Because in-front of them, were the Far Lands.

"It's like we're at the edge of the world." Olivia commented.

"Actually, we seem to be at the corner of it." Soren pointed out. "Welcome to the Far Lands, my friends."

"I'd feel a lot better about going into this crazy wall thingy if I wasn't still hungry." Olivia stated.

"Hey, at least Jesse and Fred found those potatoes." Lukas pointed out.

"That might be the saddest sentence ever uttered." Olivia retorted.

Reuben oinked his agreement.

Jesse didn't answer, still awe-struck by the Far Lands.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Soren commented. "Stretching skyward, in all its glory. Like a monument to chaos itself."

"Soren, have you been here before?" Jesse asked.

"Not here, specifically. But I have visited the Far Lands. The Order traveled far and wide during our heyday." Soren answered.

"Definitely one of the strangest things you can ever encounter." Fred commented.

"Doesn't seem as scary as I imagined it." Jesse said.

"Ah, a little fear is healthy sometimes, Jesse." Soren responded. "Whatever Ivor's hiding in here, it will be extremely well-guarded."

They approached a hole in the glitch wall that was marked by lapis blocks and glowstone.

"This way, I suspect." Soren said, his voice echoing slightly off the walls.

"I'd feel better about this if Axel and Petra were here." Lukas said.

"I know what you mean." Olivia agreed.

"Come on." Jesse said, gesturing to follow Soren inside the tunnel.

At the end of the tunnel, they happened across a large space that was filled with a giant maze.

"Is this, a maze?" Olivia asked.

"It would appear so." Soren stated. "A massive one, from the looks of it."

"If Ivor used the command block to build this, it could hold unspeakable peril."

"So, maybe we should not just wander into the world's hardest maze without a guide." Lukas suggested.

"Yeah, probably not a good idea." Fred agreed.

"Unfortunately, this seems to be the only way forward." Soren informed.

"There has to be another way." Olivia stubbornly insisted. "A secret door, or, I don't know."

Jesse nodded in agreement.

"There's no way we're going into some crazy maze that Ivor built to keep people away." Jesse said. "We'll find some other way through."

"Best decision you've made all day." Olivia added.

Looking around, Jesse approached some vines that were hanging off the top of the maze.

"Huh, we can probably climb these." Jesse suggested.

"Everyone, en garde!" Soren exclaimed.

A massive wave of zombies was coming out of the maze.

"There's too many! We can't fight them all!" Olivia panicked.

Jesse approached the vines.

"Guys, climb the vines!" Jesse said, panting.

They made it to the top.

"Well, that worked. I suppose." Soren commented.

But there was one problem. Jesse was separated from the rest of the group.

"Yeah, I guess." Olivia said, pointing out the problem.

"Yeah, but now what?" Lukas asked. "We're all separated."

Looking to the right, Jesse saw a building in the distance.

"Let's just head that way and find a place where the paths connect." Jesse suggested. The rest of the group walked away.

"Sure hope they don't get lost in there." Jesse said. He turned around. "I hope I don't get lost in there."

Jesse spent the next ten minutes walking around on top of the maze, nothing interesting happening until a spider climbed up and launched itself on top of Jesse.

"Yikes!"

Shoving it off, he drew his sword and killed the spider with it. The sword decided that now was the perfect time for it to break.

"Shoot! You have got to be kidding me!"

After a few more minutes walking, he saw Olivia down on the ground beneath him.

"Olivia!" He called, but she didn't hear him. He looked up and saw another witch. Just his luck. He still had a bow though, so he drew that out and proceeded to shoot the witch with it a few times, killing her.

Reaching the side of the maze, Jesse spotted a contraption with boats, sticky pistons, and slime blocks.

"Huh. What's that?"

Jesse moved to take a closer look. It seemed to be some kind of incomplete machine. He approached a chest next to it, finding some redstone dust and a slime ball. He approached the machine.

"Hmm, some redstone blocks, some pistons…" He said, out-loud. "Wonder what this thing's supposed to be."

"Hello? Anyone?" Olivia's voice called out from behind him

"Olivia, is that you?" He answered.

Olivia stepped into view.

"Jesse. There you are." She approached him. Reuben was with her.

"Any sign of the others?" Jesse asked.

"Not yet. This maze, we don't have time for this."

They approached the bottomless gap between them and the cottage.

"Who even knows where the others are by now." She added. "I mean, the clock's ticking here, Jesse. Yet, we're lost in some elaborate puzzle."

"Well, at least we're back together." Jesse pointed out.

"Yes! The dream team, reunited!"

Reuben gave an approving oink.

"Now the dream team's just gotta find a way across this gaping bottomless pit."

Jesse turned toward the machine.

"What about this thing? Could it get us across?" Jesse asked.

"It's some kind of flying barge. It would probably get us to the other side, but it's in really bad shape." Olivia observed. "And it's really complicated."

"You can fix it though, right?" Jesse asked.

"I don't know, I think it's out of my league."

"Come on, I'll help you." Jesse suggested.

"How are you going to help me when I don't even know where to start?" She questioned. "This layout doesn't even make any sense! What was Ivor thinking?"

She sat down.

"Or maybe it's just me. I mean, Ellegaard herself said I don't have what it takes to be a great engineer." She said, sadly. "She was right, I just can't hack it! I might as well as be a carrot farmer."

Jesse kneeled down beside her.

"So prove her wrong! Show the world what you're made of!"

"Prove her wrong?" Olivia repeated. "Jesse, she was the greatest redstone engineer ever! She was in the Order of the Stone!"

"Sure, but the Order are still people, just like us." Jesse pointed out.

"Right, just like us. I mean, how are we the ones saving the world, when even they AND a super-powerful admin don't have what it takes?" Olivia questioned. "Soren and Ivor are always at each other's throats. The 'greatest warrior in history' is dying alongside Petra from Wither Sickness. All I ever see Magnus do is argue. Meanwhile, Fred is just as helpless as us with the Wither-Storm. And we both know what happened to Ellegaard."

They approached the chasm again.

"If they can't do this? How are we supposed to?" Olivia asked. "How are we supposed to do anything?"

"All I know is, the world is depending on us." Jesse responded.

"Then maybe the world is in trouble." Olivia retorted. "I mean, they defeated an Ender Dragon. Can you name even one thing we've done right? And I don't mean managing to stay alive."

"Well, for starters. We're the ones who brought them back together again." Jesse pointed out. "You found Ellegaard, I found Magnus. We both played a role with Soren."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true." Olivia agreed. Jesse's words seemed to motivate her again.

"Blargh, all right. I'll try it one more time." She said, approaching the barge again. This time, she seemed to figure it out.

"Wait a second, I think I see what he was trying to do." Olivia stated. She gave Jesse a piston. "Jesse, take this piston, craft it into a sticky piston, then place it on the other side of the barge, along with a redstone block."

She looked at Jesse.

"You got all that?" She asked.

"I think so." Jesse answered.

Approaching the crafting table, Jesse made the sticky piston. At the barge, he placed the sticky piston and redstone block in the place that Olivia described. The redstone blocks seemed to glow.

"Holy cow! We did it!" Olivia exclaimed. "We need flint and steel to get it started!"

"I'm proud of you, Olivia!" Jesse said.

"Thanks, Jesse! And thanks for everything you said just before. It really helped." Olivia responded.

"No problemo."

As they high-fived, Soren, Fred and Lukas showed up, followed by Zombies.

"Go, go, go!" Jesse ordered, gesturing them onto the barge. "Quick, onto the barge!"

They got on, while Jesse used his flint and steel to start it. It began to move.

Acting quickly, Jesse got on just before it moved over the edge.

"That was close!" Jesse panted. "Everyone okay?"

"For the moment." Soren replied. He was deathly pale.

"Oh, and did you know? Soren's afraid of heights!" Fred said, his face in an evil grin.

"What? Stuff and nonsense!" Soren retorted. However, his pale face said otherwise.

"Soren? Is that true?" Jesse asked, a smirk on his face.

"Of course not!" Soren instantly responded, them gave a cry of fear.

"You're not doing a very good job of convincing them, Soren." Fred said, in a sing-song like voice. He was clearly enjoying this.

"Shut up!" Soren said, blushing.

Much to Soren's apparent relief, they arrived at the cottage.

"Well, that was fun." Fred said.

"By 'fun,' I assume you mean 'absurd and unnecessary'." Soren assumed.

"At least we made it." Lukas pointed out.

"Let's see what he's hiding in there." Jesse said.

And with that, they entered the cottage.

* * *

Oh boy, I am definitely looking forward to the next chapter. You know what's going to happen.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up something else.

More to follow.


	16. A Block and a Hard Place - 3

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

The first thing the group was greeted with when they entered the cottage was a library, very similar to the one in the Order's temple and the basement back at Endercon.

"So many books!" Fred commented.

"We should be careful; this place could be booby-trapped." Olivia said.

"Let's just start looking for the enchanting book." Jesse suggested.

He approached a bookshelf and started reading the book names.

A Brief History of Cubism.

Crafting for Noobs - Revised.

A Collector's Guide to Precious Gems.

However, he did not see any enchanting book.

"None of these are enchanting books." He commented.

Jesse approached Lukas.

"Hey, Lukas. Having any luck?"

"No, just been thinking about other stuff, actually." Lukas admitted.

"Stuff such as?"

"You know. Gabriel. Petra. The Ocelots. People getting Wither Sickness." Lukas responded. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I came with you. I just- I'm just scared for everyone."

"You're a good friend, Lukas." Jesse praised. "The fact that you're always thinking about others, it says a lot."

"Well, I like my friends. I guess that's why they're friends in the first place, right?"

"Either that, or you like that they say nice things about you." Jesse added.

"Heh. Ivor, on the other hand. I think his only friends were books." Lukas commented.

"I guess being an angry loner leaves you a lot of time to read."

"Tell me about it." Lukas started to read out some book names. "How to Train Your Slime, The Various Uses of Mooshroom Stew, Potion-ology; Volume 24?"

"Are any of them the enchanting book?" Jesse asked.

"I don't think so."

Jesse continued on and approached Olivia.

"Olivia, any luck?"

"Not really. Ivor has too many books, and there's too few of us looking." Olivia answered. "How did we end up all split up like this? I feel like we're spreading ourselves too thin."

"Look, we might be spread thin, but we're all still a team. That's how teams work." Jesse assured.

"Hey, you almost said 'teamwork.'" Olivia stated.

"See? We're still funny. And we can still get things done." Jesse pointed out.

"I guess being split up just means we can be in more places at once, right?"

Jesse raised his eyebrow.

"Kinda…like… the Wither-Storm." Olivia finished.

Jesse shook his head.

"Let's just forget that metaphor." He suggested.

Jesse approached another book case that was not being searched and started reading out more book names.

How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Mining.

The Unabridged Redstone Encyclopedia.

Zombies and Pigs, an Intimate Memoir.

"None of these seem to be enchanting books either." Jesse commented.

Jesse approached Soren next.

"Find anything yet?" Jesse asked.

"In this mess? It's as though Ivor learned nothing from my lectures on organizational methodology!" Soren grumbled. "If only he hadn't tried to fight those cursed witches, he could just tell us where the book is!"

Soren looked away.

"Come here was his idea! He should be here for it!" Soren continued.

"He was just doing what I asked." Jesse defended. "It wasn't his fault we got separated. Not really."

"Is that supposed to make my feel better?!" Soren snapped. "There's neither rhyme nor reason to how these books are stored. Finding anything here is impossible!"

"Tedious, maybe. Impossible, no way." Jesse said.

"Fine, I will continue this monotonous search." Soren conceded. "But I reserve my right to grumble about it."

"It's a deal."

Jesse saw Reuben sitting in-front of a lava fire place.

"Reuben, what are you doing?" He asked.

Reuben gave an oink in response.

"Yeah, well, you're gonna get yourself cooked. I've told you before: Stay, away, from lava." Jesse scolded.

As Reuben walked away, Jesse saw a hole in the wall, with a bit of redstone dust coming out of it.

"Hey Olivia, I think there's some redstone over here." Jesse called out.

Olivia approached the redstone.

"Looks like a circuit." Olivia observed. "We probably just need a lever to power it."

"Well, it's a good thing I still have one, from like ages ago." Jesse said, pulling out a lever. He placed it on the wall next to the hole.

"Like it was made for it!" He commented. "Let's see what this sucker does."

He flipped the lever.

The lava inside the fireplace cleared, to reveal a secret passage way.

"Looks like a secret passageway." Fred observed.

"Why would you build a secret passage in a house nobody ever visits?" Lukas asked.

"More like, why wouldn't you?" Jesse corrected. "Secret passageways are cool."

"Good point." Lukas conceded. Fred nodded in approval.

They began to descend the staircase, only for Soren to step on a tripwire, closing the secret passageway back up, separating Jesse and Soren from Lukas, Olivia and Fred.

"Are you guys okay?" Jesse asked.

"We're fine! But the lever isn't working anymore!" Olivia responded.

"Stay there. We'll head down and see what we can find." Jesse instructed.

Soren, Reuben and Jesse continued on.

The room they entered seemed to be filled with objects.

"Whoa." Jesse gawked. "What is all this?"

"Incredible! He's gathered them all in one place!" Soren exclaimed.

"Gathered… what? Exactly?" Jesse asked.

"The treasures of the Order of the Stone!" Soren responded. "The stories I could tell about these dusty old things."

"I don't see any enchanting books, though." Jesse observed. He saw a door. "Maybe through there?"

Soren approached it and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Locked. Of course."

"There must be some way to open it." Jesse mused. He approached a treasure on one of the pedestals, it was a ghast tear.

"These Ghast Tears, they're super hard to get!" Jesse commented.

"You don't know the half of it. It was our first official mission as the Order of the Stone. We fought those ghasts for hours, and these tears were our reward." Soren informed.

Jesse moved to grab it.

"Jesse, what are you doing?" Soren asked.

"Uh, taking this really cool rare item?" Jesse responded, blushing. "We might need it to unlock that door."

"Very well, just be careful with it." Soren instructed.

Taking the Ghast Tear off the pedestal, a wooden pressure plate spring upward.

"See?" Jesse pointed out.

Jesse approached a black and purple egg. Was this the Ender Dragon Egg?

"Soren, is this the actual Ender Dragon Egg?!"

"Alas, yes." Soren replied, less enthusiastic as Jesse was about it. "The only thing that remains of our final adventure together."

Jesse took the egg.

"No way I'm leaving this behind."

The next treasure Jesse approached was a sea lantern.

"Am I crazy, or is this a Sea Lantern?"

"Ah! The very some on the Order built, all those years ago! We were so green back then." Soren commented. "It looks just as bright as on the day we crafted it."

Jesse took it.

"A Sea Lantern, huh?"

He approached a thick looking ice block.

"So where'd this Packed Ice come from?"

"We brought it back from the Ice Plains Spikes biome. It was colder there than anywhere we'd ever been, but Magnus slipped so many times, our laughter kept us warm." Soren recounted. "After that, we knew we were ready to face the Ender Dragon!"

Jesse grabbed it. It was the coldest thing he had ever held.

"Oooh, cold! And slippery." He commented as he pocketed it.

Jesse approached the final treasure piece in the room, which was a prismarine shard.

"These are Prismarine Crystals. You can only get these underwater, right?" Jesse asked.

"Precisely! We nearly ran out of oxygen getting these!" Soren confirmed. "Ellegaard had to use a spare bucket just to grab a few extra breaths."

"We used most of these to craft the Sea Lantern. This is all that remained."

"Prismarine is such a cool word. Prizzzzzmarine." Jesse commented. He took the shard off the final pressure plate, and in doing so, a wall behind Soren opened up, to reveal five hoppers.

"Aha! A hopper!" Jesse pointed out.

"Why is Ivor hiding a hopper in his basement?" Soren asked.

Jesse approached the hoppers.

"Hmm. Five slots." He observed. Jesse wondered what they were for. He saw that there were five treasures, and there were five hoppers, which means that they are meant for the treasures. The only problem was, which order do they go in?

Soren said that their first mission was the Ghast Tears, and their final mission was the Ender Dragon, so he put them in slots 1 and 5.

Soren said that their Ice biome adventure was just before the Ender Dragon, so he put that in slot 4.

As for Slot's 2 and 3. Soren said that they used the prismarine shards to make the Sea Lantern. So he put the Sea lantern in slot 3 and the shards in slot 2.

They sank into the hoppers, and the door opened.

"Yes!" Jesse exclaimed.

"You solved it? But how in the world did you know what order to put them in?" Soren asked. "There were one hundred and twenty possible combinations!"

"Everything I needed, was in your stories!" Jesse stated.

"Nice work, Jesse!" Soren appraised. "You know, I often give Ivor a hard time. But for all his complaining, his time with the Order clearly meant a great deal to him."

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway. Let's go get that Enchanting Book!" Jesse said, walking toward the door, Soren following him.

They entered the next room.

"By the stars, the Ender Dragon!" Soren exclaimed. "With replica Ender Crystals and all."

"Wow. I always wondered what it looked like." Jesse commented. "Hmm, now way out."

He approached Soren again.

"Soren, what's this thing supposed to be?" He asked.

"It appears to be an homage to our battle with the Ender Dragon. Despite his anger, Ivor never stopped being fond of us."

"We're missing something here, Soren. And I have a feeling the key might be locked in that head of yours." Jesse pointed out.

"I have a key locked in my head?" Soren asked.

"What I'm saying is, I think you need to tell me about the Ender Dragon battle." Jesse explained.

"Oh." Soren responded in understanding. "If only you'd been there."

Soren launched into his story.

"It was a fight for the ages! We'd spent weeks preparing for our greatest battle ever! But even so, the Ender Dragon was stronger than even I had imagined. I realized it was drawing strength from the Ender Crystals, and that the crystals had to be destroyed. I hit the first with a perfectly placed arrow. The second, I destroyed by launching myself on the shockwave of Magnus' TNT!"

Soren cleared his throat.

"Using only my strength and my wiles, I steered the foul beast toward the third crystal, which was taken out by a contraption of Ellegaard's. I flew the dragon directly toward the final crystal! Only then, did Gabriel deliver his famous final blow! We became heroes, and eventually, legends."

"That was absolutely amazing!" Jesse remarked.

"They didn't call us the Order of the Stone for nothing." Soren responded.

Jesse took a look at the room. There were four towers with buttons. A banner for each order member was on each tower.

"Wonder if that story will help me solve this puzzle." Jesse mused. He looked up toward the dragon replica, to find a lever on the neck part. "So, Soren rode the dragon, huh?"

Using Soren's story, Jesse pushed the buttons in the order that the crystals were destroyed. The doors opened, to reveal a second set of doors.

"There's another door?"

Jesse looked back up toward the Ender Dragon replica, maybe that lever had something to do with the second door.

He approached the Ender Dragon tail, which was low enough for Jesse to be able to get on top of.

"Hey, Reuben. Give me a boost, will ya?" Jesse asked.

Jesse stepped on top of Reuben, and jumped up toward the lantern, climbing on top of the structure.

Walking over to the lever, Jesse flipped it. The second doors opened.

"Bravo! You did it!" Soren complimented.

They entered the next room, to find the enchanting book.

"There's the book." Jesse pointed out.

However, there was something else in the room. Looking up, Jesse saw 4 floating purple crystals. Were these the Ender Crystals?

"Wait? Aren't those the Ender Crystals? Like, the real ones?" Jesse asked.

Soren went deathly pale.

"No, it can't be." He stammered. "Not here. Not after all this time."

"But those things were destroyed in your big heroic battle with the Ender Dragon right, Soren?"

Soren ignored him.

"He kept them, the fool actually kept them! He looked me in the eye and swore!"

There was definitely something fishy going on here. Jesse rounded on Soren.

"Soren, you said destroying these crystals was the key to defeating the Ender Dragon." Jesse said. "You did kill the Ender Dragon, right?"

Right now, Soren looked a lot like a child who was caught doing something bad.

"Jesse, this isn't… this isn't what it looks like." Soren pleaded. "Our story, th-the story. It's mostly true. I swear. I swear it!"

Jesse wasn't convinced.

"Whatever you're thinking, I promise, I can explain!"

"So what really happened, Soren?" Jesse demanded. "If you didn't destroy the Ender Crystals-"

"I can't… we swore to never speak of it." Soren stammered.

Jesse put on a hard glare.

"I think it's time to start talking." He suggested.

Soren gave a defeated sigh.

"I'm afraid I haven't been honest with you, Jesse." Soren confessed. "We did defeat the Ender Dragon. But it wasn't… exactly like I said."

"How 'not exactly'?" Jesse asked, confused.

"We got rid of it… but we didn't kill it, per se. In fact, we didn't even fight it. We didn't even try." Soren stated.

Jesse stood there, silently glaring at him.

"You want the truth?" Soren asked. "We used that damned Command Block!"

"YOU USED THE COMMAND BLOCK TO DEFEAT THE ENDER DRAGON!?" Jesse repeated, scandalized.

"I'm afraid so." Soren admitted. "Understand, when I found that blasted block, I was a nobody. But with its help, we became stronger, faster. We could do so much more."

Soren launched into the true story.

"The others had no idea of what I was doing, yet the more I used it, there more we came to depend on it. I knew it was only so long before someone would find out. So I concocted a plan, I would use the Command Block to blink the Ender Dragon out of existence, securing our status as legends. Forever."

Soren gave a sad look.

"We told the world we defeated a dragon. And the rest… is history." Soren finished.

"Why would you do that? You lied, even to your closest friends!" Jesse exclaimed.

"All I can say is… I was a fool." Soren confessed.

"So you finally admit it." Ivor said, getting Jesse's attention.

Behind Ivor, stood Lukas, Olivia and Fred. And boy, did they not look happy.

"Soren, how could you?" Olivia asked, disbelievingly.

"Ivor." Soren greeted in a threatening tone.

"How long have you guys been standing there?" Jesse asked.

"Long enough hat they heard the whole thing." Ivor responded.

"You lied to the whole world!" Lukas accused.

"I just cannot believe that you would let yourself sink to that level!" Fred added.

"You didn't think you could keep it secret forever, did you Soren?" Ivor taunted. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"Is this why you left the order? Because Soren lied?" Jesse asked.

"Because, they all did." Ivor corrected. "Soren, Gabriel, Magnus, Ellegaard. They agreed to keep this a secret."

"Well, so much for that." Fred stated.

"And you! You agreed to stay quiet too! In exchange for all of our treasures!" Soren accused.

Olivia gave a gasp.

"I've technically never told anybody." Ivor defended. "Jesse discovered the truth on his own!"

"So this whole thing, this Wither you unleashed has… all been to teach the Order a lesson?" Lukas asked.

"To teach the world a lesson! To show you who the Order really are!" Ivor said. "Liars, cowards. And now, they know."

Jesse felt a twinge of guilt at punching Ivor now, since he had good intentions.

"You know, I kinda regret punching you right now." Jesse admitted.

"Yes, well. You weren't the first. No one ever seems to appreciate my good intentions." Ivor said.

"Might have something to do with the casual way in which you've unleashed Armageddon?" Soren stated.

"Look, my Wither plan obviously backfired." Ivor admitted.

"Ya think?" Olivia retorted.

"I didn't know we'd end up with three of those things tearing the world apart!" Ivor continued.

"For a moment, I almost forgot about that." Fred added.

"Which brings us back to why we're here. We need to destroy that command block… like, now!" Jesse reminded.

"Jesse's right. Destroying the Command Block is all that matters anymore." Soren agreed.

"How ironic that the best thing the Command Block gave us, was the very means to destroy it." Ivor commented.

"Spare us the poetry, it's not your strong suit." Soren retorted.

"So the enchanting book, what do we do with it?" Jesse asked.

"You craft a weapon, then put it on an anvil." Ivor responded. "Follow me, I'll show you."

"Ivor, I'm sorry. About everything." Soren apologized.

"Yes, well. It doesn't matter now." Ivor deadpanned. He led the way into another room, which had a crafting table, a chest, an anvil and in the back of the room, new shiny armor.

"Grab some ingredients and craft a weapon. I'll show you how to enchant it." Ivor instructed.

"Sweet."

Jesse approached a chest.

"Let's see. There's a bunch of crafting stuff, and…"

He pulled out a diamond.

"DIAMONDS! SCORE!"

Using the diamonds, he chose to craft a diamond pickaxe, as he is using it to destroy the command block, not to fight mobs.

"Awesome! I've never owned a diamond weapon!" He exclaimed, waving the diamond pickaxe around.

"Just wait 'til you enchant it!" Ivor added.

Jesse approached the anvil.

"Let's see what this enchanting book is made of."

Placing the pickaxe and the book on the anvil, they merged together to create an enchanted pickaxe.

"Behold; my enchanted diamond pickaxe!" He exclaimed, holding it up. The pickaxe was giving off a glow, not unlike the Command Block.

Reuben gave an oink of approval.

"Yes, that should do the job nicely." Ivor agreed. "But if you're fighting those Wither monsters head on, you'll want better armor, too."

Ivor gestured toward the armor at the back of the room.

"I enchanted these for the Order. They're about as strong as it comes. Even able to withstand TNT! Any preference?" Ivor offered. "I have eight different sets to choose from and believe me. They're all excellent."

"All right, let me take a look at them." Jesse said, moving closer.

A purple armor which Ivor called Dragonsbane caught Jesse's eye.

"All right, this is the set." Jesse said.

"Yes, a fine choice." Ivor agreed. "Now go ahead and put it on."

And that's exactly what Jesse did.

"How do I look?" Jesse asked.

"Ready for action!" Ivor commented. "You can take some for your friends as well."

"Sounds good to me."

Jesse walked back out into the Ender Crystal room, showing off his weapon and armor.

"Wow! Cool armor, Jesse." Olivia commented.

"Thanks! And there's plenty to go around."

As soon as Fred saw the weapon, he immediately stood up to take a closer look.

"Nice. Normally weapons cannot hurt an Admin. But that? That could potentially kill one with only a few hits." Fred commented.

After Lukas and Olivia chose an armor set of their own, Jesse walked back toward the door.

"Now let's get back to Soren's fortress, and see how the Wither-Storms are doing against those Endermen."

"Actually, I got a much quicker way." Fred offered. "I can teleport us all back to Soren's fortress."

"But Fred-" Jesse tried to reason.

"Yes. It will leave residue, I know. But we'll be appearing in the vicinity of the Wither-Storms, therefore I'll be able to get away with it." Fred explained. "Everybody, prepare yourselves. Teleporting over twelve million blocks isn't going to feel very pleasant."

"Just do it." Jesse said.

And with that, Fred clapped his hands, and the entire world began to spin.

* * *

Author's Notes: Due to the longer wait between the last chapter and this one, I've decided to push out the final chapter at the same time as this one to compensate.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.

One more chapter to follow.


	17. A Block and a Hard Place - 4

(Minecraft: Story Mode and its characters belong to Telltale Games, not me.)

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

As the spinning stopped, Fred saw that some of the people looked like they were ready to throw up.

"Yeah, it's disorienting. But when you're someone like me, you get used to it." Fred assured.

But there was no time to dwell on that now, for they were back at Soren's fortress. The three Wither-Storm's were raging on, having already torn the place to shreds.

"Wow." Lukas commented.

But something was wrong, the Wither-Storms were still just as intact as they were when they departed for the Far Lands.

"Wait a second, shouldn't the Endermen be done with those things by now? Or am I missing something here?" Fred asked.

"It's not just you. Something's wrong." Ivor agreed.

"Jesse! Over here!" A voice called. It was Axel, standing a short distance away.

"Axel!"

"You guys made it!" Axel said. He took a look at their armor. "Nice freaking armor by the way! Makes you all a lot easier to look at."

"Good to see you, too! Axel." Olivia responded.

"Do you have the amulet?" Jesse asked.

"Safe and sound." Axel assured, pulling out the amulet. "But that's not the problem."

"Then what is?" Olivia asked.

"The Endermen, they're not angry enough." Axel explained. "I mean, some of them are. But most of them are standing around, moving blocks. Y'know, being Endermen."

"Oh, blast!" Soren growled in response.

"Don't be too concerned, though. I've got my powers and you guys have all got armor, so it shouldn't be anything we cannot handle." Fred assured.

"I'm not so sure about that." Soren responded.

"Now is not the time for cold feet, Soren!" Ivor retorted.

"So what's the plan?" Axel asked. "I mean, I know we gotta go in there, but, do we just go for it, or what?"

"We need to find a way for me to use this!" Jesse said, pulling out his enchanted pickaxe.

"Whoa! That is, without question, the coolest thing I have ever, ever seen!" Axel remarked.

"I know, right?" Fred agreed.

Jesse pulled out some green colored armor, complete with a glass bowl for the head.

"Oh, and I brought you some armor, Axel." Jesse said, displaying it. "Here."

Axel approached it and put it on.

"Nice, I was feeling a little left out!" Axel said.

A huge thunderclap coming from the Wither-Storm got their attention.

"Guys, let's go kick some Command Block butt." Jesse said, a determined look on his face.

Everyone except for Soren nodded in response. As they approached the middle Wither-Storm, they managed to witness first hand just how much damage the Wither-Storm had created in their absence.

"Does anyone see the Command Block?" Jesse asked.

"I don't think it's exposed!" Ivor responded.

"We need to get more Endermen focused on the Wither-Storm." Olivia instructed.

"How do you make Endermen focus? I can't even make myself focus!" Axel asked.

Soren began to back away.

"We-we shouldn't be here. None of this is going according to plan!"

"Soren? What are you doing?" Fred asked, in a warning tone.

"I uh, you know. I've really enjoyed meeting you all, but…"

Soren turned around and ran. Fred, however was having none of it.

Fred clapped his hands and Soren began to float before he even reached the door.

"WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Soren yelled. "PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

"You might have chickened out with the Ender Dragon. But I will not let you do such things here." Fred stated. He waved his arms and Soren floated back to the group. "You are going to step out of your comfort zone and fight like a man!"

Fred's Admin eyes looked at Soren with a warning stare.

"Got it?" Fred asked.

"I-Uh. I-I-I." Soren stammered.

"GOT IT!?" Fred repeated, much louder. His Admin eyes seemed to glow brighter.

"I-Okay." Soren conceded. Fred didn't know whether Soren was more terrified of the Wither-Storm, or of him and his Admin powers.

Fred set Soren down, and to their relief, he didn't try to run away.

"All right, we have work to do." Jesse said. "We need to get those Endermen to attack it."

They saw an Endermen step inside a tractor beam, only for it to growl in rage and teleport up. Even the Wither-Storm couldn't look at the Endermen without angering them.

"The tractor beams!" Olivia exclaimed. "Jesse, that's it! Make them chase you into the tractor beam!"

And the group set out to work on getting the Endermen to attack the Wither-Storm. While Jesse was doing his work on the ground, getting them angry. Fred floated 50 feet into the air, making sure that everything was going to plan, which it was.

Once Fred saw that there was a hole inside the Wither-Storm, he called the rest of the group up towards a raised platform.

"Jesse, look! It's working." Olivia pointed out.

"That hole's big enough to get inside of!" Jesse added.

"Now, we just need to find you a way up." Axel said.

"Leave that to me." Fred said. With a clap of his hands, Jesse began to rise into the air. What Fred didn't notice is that Reuben jumped into Jesse's arms.

"Reuben! This is no place for a-"

Fred sent Jesse flying inside the Wither-Storm.

"-PIIIIIG!"

Noticing what was happening. Fred flew inside after him.

* * *

(JESSE'S POV)

Jesse and Reuben landed inside the Wither-Storm with a painful thud.

"Reuben, you shouldn't have surprised me like that." Jesse scolded.

Fred landed next to them.

"Fred, what are you doing in here?" Jesse asked.

"After I saw Reuben jump into your arms, I had to follow." Fred explained. "Make sure that nothing bad happens."

"Oh, well. Good, because on the other hand, I'm kinda glad not to be alone right here." Jesse responded.

"Follow me and stay close." Fred instructed. Jesse gave a nod and proceeded to follow Fred.

Before they could walk ten steps, the inside of the Wither-Storm rumbled and flipped 90 degrees into its right side.

Jesse and Reuben landed next to a withered human. It had a very familiar face. It was the butcher back at Endercon.

Reuben gave an alarmed squeal and ran off.

"Oh, yes. I remember that guy." Fred said.

"What?" Jesse responded, confused.

"I was nearby when you threatened him with your sword." Fred explained. "I could tell straight away that you meant business."

"Uh, thanks?"

"C'mon. Let's keep going." Fred said, gesturing for Jesse to follow.

Eventually, after a few more mishaps, they made it to the Command Block.

"Whoa!" Jesse gawked. "There it is."

"Hello, Command Block!" Fred greeted sarcastically. "Say, how's Romeo? Sure would be a pity if he found out that you weren't going to be around much longer, wouldn't it?"

Jesse gave Fred a strange look.

"Enough dancing around, let's get around to destroying it." Jesse said, pulling out his pickaxe.

"Give that thing all you've got, Jesse!" Fred instructed, gesturing toward the Command Block.

Jesse stepped up, raised his pickaxe and brought it crashing down on the Command Block. It did not break; however a huge crack was left down the middle of it.

"Oh yeah, that's gonna leave a mark." Fred remarked.

The Command Block didn't like that at all. The platform it was on raised and tentacles woke up, knocking Jesse off.

"Guys, I think we made it angry." Jesse said.

More tentacles formed inside the room, with the sole intent of protecting the Command Block.

"Guys, no matter what happens. We must destroy that Command Block." Fred reminded. "Understand me?"

"Yes." Jesse responded. He used his pickaxe to sever a tentacle that was about to attack him. "Whoa! Why didn't I always carry an enchanted weapon?"

Jesse used his pickaxe to sever more tentacles, before focusing on the command block.

"It's doing everything it can to protect the Command Block. Which means I have to do everything I can to destroy it." Jesse observed. He stepped up to the raised platform.

"Awesome weapon, don't fail me now." Jesse said as he used his weapon to sever four more tentacles. He raised his weapon and gave the Command Block another hit with it. It still didn't break, but it starting to become unstable due to the damage.

The room started to turn. As Jesse began to fall, Fred caught him with his Admin powers.

"Holy moly! This thing won't die!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Okay, the residue is starting to become weaker, and I don't want to take any more chances so I'm afraid I'm not going to be using any more powers." Fred informed them.

"All right, new plan." Jesse responded. "I'm gonna climb up there and use one of those tentacles to swing toward the Command Block."

Jesse began to climb.

"Stay here, Reuben. I mean it this time." Jesse warned.

Climbing up to the top, Jesse made it towards a black platform, only it was no platform. It was a Wither-Storm head that decided to wake up now, knocking Jesse off of it and casting its own tractor beam.

"Okay, this thing is definitely not screwing around. It definitely wants to make sure the Command Block doesn't get destroyed." Fred commented.

Taking a look at the tractor beams and the tentacles, Jesse got an idea.

"Wait a second, I know exactly how to get up there." Jesse said. "The tractor beam!"

"Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no!" Fred disagreed. "I am not letting you do that."

Jesse ignored him.

"Hey, you!" Jesse called out, getting the Wither head's attention. He turned to Fred.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" Jesse insisted.

"But-"

"I'm not gonna let it suck me all the way up, just close enough to do what I have to do." Jesse explained.

"Okay, but if you die, I will find a way to bring you back just to kill you again, myself." Fred threatened.

Jesse had a bad feeling that Fred would actually find a way to follow through with that threat if he did die.

"Bet you can't catch me!" Jesse taunted. The Wither head looked down and grabbed Jesse with its tractor beam.

Once Jesse got close enough, he damaged the eye with his weapon, shutting off the tractor beam. He quickly grabbed on.

As the Wither head shook itself around, Jesse looked down. Panic filled him up instantly.

"Why did I have to look down?" Jesse groaned. He launched himself off the head and grabbed onto a tentacle guarding the command block. As he moved to raise his weapon, a tentacle caught him by surprise and knocked the weapon out of his hand.

"NO!" Fred exclaimed.

"No no no no no!" Jesse panicked.

Reuben approached the weapon.

"Reuben! I need your help!" Jesse called out. "Remember how we used to play fetch?

Reuben grabbed the weapon with his teeth.

"That's it! Reuben, that's it! Take it to Jesse!" Fred encouraged.

"Come on, Reuben! I believe in you!" Jesse said. He dodged a bite from the Wither head.

"Jump! I'll catch you!" Jesse instructed. Reuben jumped off and grabbed onto Jesse, who caught him.

"You did it! I knew I could count on you!" Jesse praised. He took the weapon and raised it again.

"Time to put an end to this thing, for once and for-"

"JESSE! LOOK OUT!" Fred exclaimed.

The Wither head grabbed onto Reuben's back legs and pulled back.

"Reuben!" Jesse panicked. "Hold on, buddy!"

The Wither head let go, knocking Reuben out of Jesse's hands as well.

It seemed to take Reuben an age to fall. He slowly began to descend.

Jesse saw the look of horror on his pig's face as Reuben fell into the hole beneath them, out of sight.

"REUBEN!" Jesse exclaimed. No.

No.

 _No._

It can't be.

Reuben was not going to die.

Reuben was going to pull through.

No.

 _No._

 _ **No.**_

Fred just stood there, frozen.

"NOOOOO!"

Jesse gave a cry of rage as he raised his pickaxe and smashed it into the Command Block. It exploded.

The tentacle that had hold of Jesse went limb, and Jesse felt himself falling.

"JESSE!" was the last thing Jesse heard before he felt himself hit water.

* * *

(FRED'S POV)

Nothing in the entire universe could describe what Fred had just witnessed.

He had thought that Romeo's betrayal was the worst thing he ever witnessed. But this? This was a thousand times worse.

The Wither-Storm had caught Jesse by surprise and caused him to drop Reuben. Fred was so shocked that by the time it registered, Reuben was already out of sight, so he couldn't catch him.

Then, when he saw Jesse falling down after destroying the Command Block, he had acted on auto-pilot and immediately followed.

Much to Fred's relief, he saw that Jesse had landed in water, and that he was fine. But there was still one problem. Where was Reuben?

As the Wither-Storm disintegrated and the light of day shined down on them, the Endermen that were left quickly teleported away.

"There you are!" A voice pulled Fred out of his thoughts.

"Jesse, Fred. Are you two okay?" A second voice asked. It was Axel and Olivia.

"We thought you were, I mean, I didn't think you two would make it." Axel admitted.

"Reuben! Where's Reuben?" Jesse asked, panicking.

"I thought he was with you." Olivia responded.

Lukas appeared behind Axel and Olivia.

"You did it, Jesse! You actually did it!" He exclaimed. Except this time, it was for real.

Before Jesse could respond, a pained oinking sound got their attention.

"Hey, do you guys hear something?" Axel asked.

Looking behind him, Fred saw Reuben a short distance away. He wasn't in good shape.

Oh, no. This was going to be Ellegaard all over again, wasn't it?

"Reuben!" Jesse exclaimed upon spotting him. He immediately ran over.

Reuben gave a pained oink, before slowly looking up.

"Oh no." Olivia stated, worried.

"Reuben…" Jesse greeted. "You're a hero, you know that? You just helped save the world."

Reuben winced in pain.

"Come on, Reuben. Say something." Jesse begged.

Reuben attempted to get up. He looked like he was about to succeed but fell back over again.

"It's okay, boy. I'm here." Jesse said, calming him. "I'm here."

Reuben took one final breath before becoming limb. He poofed into a pile of smoke, leaving behind a pork-chop.

Fred felt tears leaving his eyelids. If it was this painful for him to watch, then what was Jesse feeling? Fred saw Jesse grab what was left of Reuben.

"Jesse. I am so sorry." Lukas said.

Fred gave Jesse a pat on the back.

"It's true. What he did today was very noble." Fred commented. "Reuben shall be remembered."

Fred saw Soren and Ivor approach behind him, each with a somber look on their faces. Up ahead, he saw people climbing out of the Wither-Storm ruins. Eventually, almost everyone was behind Jesse, paying their respects to Reuben.

* * *

One week later.

In the past week, Fred was rarely cheerful. Even though Jesse did not blame him for Reuben's death, he still felt guilty at not being able to catch Reuben when he had the chance. It has gotten to the point where Fred was scared to fall asleep at night, for his nightmares would either consist of him reliving that moment, watching Reuben fall and somehow never being able to catch him in time. Or consisting of Jesse blaming him, saying things like how he was just like Romeo.

As Jesse and his friends became super famous, Fred had told the group that he'd prefer to keep his distance for the following months until the excitement died down, as he did not want to risk someone identifying him and telling Romeo about it, that would end badly.

On the bright side though, Petra and Gabriel's wither-sicknesses were both completely gone. They were both back to their full strength again.

Today, they were admiring Reuben's memorial before Jesse's big speech. Gabriel, Magnus, Ivor and Soren were all there, as they all were going to play a big part in the gathering. They talked about it, and they eventually agreed that it was time to come clean and tell everyone the true story behind how the Order dealt with the Ender Dragon.

Fred stepped into the crowd near the front while Jesse and his friends stepped up to the podium in the midst of a cheering crowd.

Gabriel leaned over and whispered something in Jesse's ear, in which Jesse agreed before Gabriel got everyone's attention.

"We all owe a great debt to Jesse and his friends. But I owe a debt to you people, as well. Which is why, there's something I want to tell you, about the Order."

Gabriel looked at Jesse with an uncertain look. Jesse nodded.

"The Order of the Stone, is not what you all believed. We were… frauds. We used the Command Block to falsify our legacy."

There were a few gasps within the crowd, and a lot of murmuring.

"We were no heroes." Gabriel admitted. "So it is time for the world to celebrate new heroes! Real heroes."

And Gabriel, Ivor, Soren and Magnus stepped down. Jesse stepped up, which was responded with a huge cheer.

"Thank you! Thank you, everyone." Jesse began. "I know you think I'm up here because I saved the world or something. But the truth is, I didn't do it alone. Far from it. You see, I had my friends with me."

He pointed to his friends behind him.

"There was Olivia, Axel, Petra…Lukas." Jesse pointed out. He looked Fred in the eye and winked. Fred knew that Jesse considered him a hero too. However, Fred didn't want to be acknowledged because of Romeo threat that was still standing.

"They stood by my side, right from the start." Jesse continued. "Well, and they made fun of me, when I deserved it. But that's just how we are."

"Dang right, we are!" Axel agreed.

"It's crazy to think my friends and I started out in a treehouse, and now we've been to some of the weirdest places in the world. I mean, come on. We went to the Far Lands!"

The crowd began cheering.

"There was this gigantic wall, and a huge maze, and a model of the Ender Dragon that… well. You just had to be there. But when all was said and done, you know what really mattered?"

Jesse paused for a moment for suspense.

"Finishing what we set out to do." Jesse finished. "Cause there's no way we were gonna let a world this cool get torn about."

Heh, if Romeo was listening to this, his ego would probably skyrocket at the fact that Jesse called this world 'cool'.

"WE DID IT!"

The crowd gave another cheer.

Magnus stepped up and handed Jesse a purple nether star.

"Jesse, this is the Nether Star that dropped when the Wither-Storm was destroyed." He announced. "You wanna do the honors?"

The crowd began to chant 'Jesse! Jesse! Jesse!' as Jesse stepped up and placed the Nether Star on top of the stained glass behind him. It began to spin, and 9 beacons rose into the sky. Two were Cyan, two were Red, two were White and two were Green. The middle one was Purple.

"Wow!" Jesse commented.

Gabriel stepped up and pulled out the amulet.

"My friends, I am now pleased to introduce to you…"

He gave the amulet to Jesse.

"..the new Order of the Stone!" Gabriel declared.

The crowd gave a huge cheer at that declaration.

And so it was that a new Order of the Stone was born. One whose adventures were only just beginning. For though the world had been saved, and the Command Block destroyed. There were many more worlds than just this one.

But for now, all was well.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that's the end of the Wither-Storm arc for this story. But in no way shape or form is this the only story arc that I am going to be doing.

Fred did not join the new Order of the Stone for obvious reasons.

Stay tuned for the Sequel, which will go through the portal hallway arc.

Like it? Review. Don't like it, look up another story.


End file.
